He's the enigmatic, mercurial winger who has contributed nearly one goal contribution every two games since joining Hibernian, initially on loan, in the summer of 2022. 

But Élie Youan has only started one for David Gray's side so far this season, having made a 25-minute substitute appearance during the group stages of the Premier Sports Cup before suffering an injury that kept him sidelined until a few weeks back, when he got his first Scottish Premiership start in Hibs' 2-0 win against St Johnstone, coming off at half-time before entering the fray for a 22-minute cameo against Rangers at Ibrox. It would be fair to say that neither match showed him at his best.

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Just over a year ago, with Hearts leading 2-0 at Tynecastle, the Frenchman came alive in Gorgie, scoring two goals in a blistering 83 seconds to stun the hosts and earn Hibs a point. This season, he's twice been an unused substitute as the Easter Road side have struggled in front of goal and to hold onto leads. 

There was talk in the summer of interest from clubs in France and Italy, but no bids that met Hibs' valuation of the former Nantes youngster were forthcoming. That, and the injury he picked up in the latter stages of a 5-1 victory against Queen's Park, saw him remain at Easter Road beyond transfer deadline day. 

Former Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery perhaps best summed up the 25-year-old in the aftermath of that derby last year when he said: "Élie gets two goals and we need that from him for 90 minutes, not for 45. If the game was only 45 minutes he would probably be playing in the Champions League. But that’s something Élie has to fix, he’s a young player with bags of ability. Sometimes it takes young players a couple of years to get that consistency but there’s no doubting his ability. He is a fantastic player."

It was said with wry amusement but the now set-piece coach at Tottenham Hotspur had a point. Youan is the most capricious of wingers; a textbook example of sheer brilliance and inconsistency, and enough ability that, if he put it all together for 90 minutes, would surely see him get a move to a higher level. 

It remains to be seen if he will play on Sunday. It would be surprising to see him start after two games without involvement and with Chris and Nicky Cadden both facing a race against time to be fit for the game, Martin Boyle and Junior Hoilett may be Gray's starting wide options. The head coach wouldn't be drawn on Youan's projected level of involvement. 

"Is he ready physically? Yes, he is. He's someone who's been returning from injury; he's got on a few times in the last couple of weeks but never got on at the weekend there. But he's been training now for two to three weeks, maybe even four weeks now, as long as that, and he's played in a couple of bounce games," he explained. 

“From a physical point of view, he’s ready and he comes into contention like every other player at the weekend. We've got good strength and depth in wide areas and he definitely gives you that: he's got pace, he's got quality as well.

"He's also played in these games before, so he knows what to expect. But he's one of three, four, or five players who can all play in that position, so I've not decided on the team to be able to give you an answer on whether he'll start," Gray added.