More questions than answers from Hibs transfer deadline day

We had been braced for a busy final day; expecting a handful of incomings and outgoings, even allowing for things to change or fall through at the last minute as they so often can in football. A second proposed loan move in seven months for Owen Bevan of Bournemouth had already been scrapped earlier in the week, again because of injury suffered by the Welsh defender. There was talk of a penalty-box striker to complement the existing forwards. But by the time the deadline came and went, Hibs had brought in Triantis and Iredale, with the only outgoings the loan exits of Jair Tavares to Motherwell, and Allan Delferrière to Racing Union Lëtzebuerg. To paraphrase TS Eliot, the transfer window ended not with a bang, but a whimper. 

Hibs had been prepared to smash their transfer record to bring McCowan to Leith, with their fourth and final offer not far off £1 million. But Celtic's financial clout allowed them to offer a package that could see Dundee scoop more than £1.2 million for a player who has been crucial to the Dark Blues' recent success and while Hibs were prepared to push the boat out to get the 26-year-old, they didn't want to push it quite that far. 

Is the midfield good enough?

For Hibs, the pursuit of McCowan was always about the player himself and his attributes over anything else, and it's understood that that played a significant role in the club offering what would have been a record fee had it been accepted. Head coach David Gray was consistent in his messaging throughout the window that players would only be brought in if they improved the squad and with an urgent need to reduce a bloated squad, prioritising quality over quantity was paramount. 

Easter Road chiefs were always keen to bring in another defensively-minded midfielder in addition to their desire to acquire McCowan, so Triantis was not an alternative to the Dundee man. But with Allan Delferrière heading out on loan and Triantis coming in on a similar arrangement, Hibs still have a glut of midfielders on the books. 

The addition of Kwon Hyeok-kyu from Celtic should add a bit more steel to the defensive midfield and in the limited games he played at six last season, Triantis looked comfortable. Add the two of them to captain Joe Newell and it looks like a decent three-man midfield, with options off the bench or for rotation including Luke Amos, Dylan Levitt, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, and potentially Jake Doyle-Hayes. There are also Josh Campbell and Molotnikov, although both of them to differing degrees have been used further forward so far. 

It's worth pointing out that a solid midfield does not need to have individually brilliant players in it, but it does need players who complement each other. The trio of Scott Allan, Dylan McGeouch, and John McGinn was a strong all-round midfield, so if Gray can identify a combination that can similarly work well as a unit, then perhaps the middle of the park will stop looking so porous and flimsy. Gray knows what he's getting in Triantis and in his one appearance so far, Kwon looked like a different profile to the other midfielders on the books. 

No sign of any stardust - but chances for Bowie and Kukharevych

On June 28th, speaking at his first press conference as head coach, Gray spoke about the importance of character and how that could help get the club back to where he felt it should be. 

"You need to get the blend right. It’s so important. When you think about the investment and the position the club is in, we managed to get the likes of Emiliano Marcondes and Myziane Maolida on loan last season. If we can get the core of the squad right and sprinkle a bit of that over it, it bodes well for Hibs going forward and that’s what we’re working towards all the time."

It could be argued that getting the core of the squad right was the priority and bringing in a Marcondes or a Myziane would have been an added bonus. Three games into the league season, the core of the squad is still knitting together but there will be hope that Kieron Bowie and Mykola Kukharevych, among others, can deliver goals and points and help take Hibs to where they want to be in the table. 

No Black Knight players

When Hibs joined forces with US billionaire Bill Foley and became part of his Black Knight Football Club (BKFC) network, there were concerns from fans about what it would mean for the Easter Road side. They didn't want to see Hibs become a feeder team of sorts for Bournemouth, or lose part of their identity. 

Instead, it was suggested that being part of the group could benefit Hibs and the other clubs with best practices being shared between teams and intragroup player trading, to some degree. Bevan's scheduled return would have been an obvious example of that, but that move fell through.

The club's involvement with the Black Knights is not solely about player trading, but it was still perhaps a little surprising that there weren't other candidates for loan moves. That being said, if there was no one that Gray felt would be an improvement on what was already in the building, it would have made little sense to make the move for the sake of it. 

What positives are there to take?

Gray will be only too aware, having served under four previous managers or head coaches at Easter Road, that time is not on his side. League defeats by St Mirren and Celtic were followed by a 2-2 draw with Dundee in which the visitors snatched a late equaliser, in a cruel throwback to last season under Nick Montgomery. 

The 36-year-old has sounded confident when speaking about his squad and the new arrivals - all 11 of them, including returning loanees Kukharevych and Triantis - but it's a results business and Hibs could really do with kickstarting their season at Kilmarnock. 

One of the 11 summer signings, Junior Hoilett, is yet to be fully match-fit but if he can pick up where he left off during the final weeks of his spell at Aberdeen then Gray will have another option in the final third. The signing of the left-footed Iredale gives Hibs depth at left-back and left-sided centre-back while Nicky Cadden, Bowie, Kukharevych, and Kwon are all still getting up to speed but have shown positive signs so far. 

Another positive Hibs can take from deadline day is that Élie Youan remains at the club - for now, at least. He had been linked with clubs in France and Italy and would have been allowed to leave for the right price, but picked up an injury late on in the 5-1 Premier Sports Cup victory over Queen's Park. Some transfer windows do remain open so there remains the possibility that he moves on but if he does, it will only be for the right price.

If he doesn't move on, Gray should have him back available soon and has been effusive in his praise for how focused Youan has been. He has been doing extra work in a bid to accelerate his return to action and having him back on the pitch could be - if you'll excuse the cliché - like a new signing for Hibs.