Jimmy Jeggo exit confirmed as Hibs move quickly to sign new midfielder

The manager revealed Jeggo is set to take up an opportunity to return to Australia - believed to be with Melbourne City - and that he goes with 'our blessing'. Montgomery has moved swiftly to bring in another midfield option, which could be rubberstamped as early as today, while Hibs are also close to signing a defender before next week's transfer deadline.

READ MORE: Hibs fans overwhelmingly back summer safe-standing move

Jeggo signed for the club under Lee Johnson in January 2023, and made 41 appearances in all competitions. Montgomery says the move was appealing to the midfielder for family reasons.

“He has an opportunity to go back to his homeland," said the manager ahead of Saturday's visit to Kilmarnock. "It was important for him, for family reasons. We all agreed it was a good opportunity and he goes with our blessing, having been a good servant to the club, a good team-mate.

“We’ve been looking constantly to bring more reinforcements in. There is a good chance we may bring in someone today that we’ve been working on, a replacement for Jimmy. We’re still trying to see what’s out there and we’ll continue to do that until the end of the window.

“We haven’t rushed in, we’ve brought in quality players, although they’ll need a bit of time to get up to speed."

Hibs have been pushing for centre-back cover this window, and narrowly missed out on an unnamed defender last week following a sudden change of circumstance at his parent club. But progress has since been made on an alternative, with Montgomery confident of completing the signing over the coming days.

“We’re still close," he said. "We went for one a couple of weeks ago that took a couple of weeks, then circumstances changed. But I can report that we are close to bringing in another defender.

Until we get Rocky Bushiri back, we’re light in that area, even if Paul Hanlon returns from his illness. It won’t happen before tomorrow’s game, that’s for sure.