How every Hibs loanee is faring, future prospects assessed

That includes a selection of academy hopefuls gaining valuable first-team experience and senior players seeking more time on the pitch, but all will be of interest to manager Nick Montgomery. One of his first declarations upon replacing Lee Johnson is that everyone’s slate would be wiped clean, and you’d imagine that extends to those not currently in the building at Easter Road.

With so many off doing their thing elsewhere, it can be difficult to keep track. Here, we look at how each loan player has fared so far, and what their future prospects might be.

Kanayo Megwa, Josh O’Connor, Murray Aiken – Airdrieonians

Possibly the most intriguing of all the current loan arrangements, as it’s not often you see three players from the academy all heading for the same destination at the same time. Under a young manager in Rhys McCabe, the Diamonds have caught the eye in this season’s Championship in their attempts to play a progressive, possession-based style of football after winning promotion from League One last term.

Megwa and Aiken have both already earned Player of the Month awards, and all three have featured regularly. Still only 19, Megwa has shown impressive versatility in being deployed across three positions in his six appearances – right-back, centre-back and on the left of midfield.

“You forget that he’s only been in the building a short period of time,” said McCabe after Megwa’s debut against Ayr United. “A lot of these lads have been here two years with me, they’ve understood the way I want to play, and for him to come in, in a short period, he’s done well.

“In the second half he was playing almost like an inverted full-back, was getting a lot of possession, a lot of joy. I thought with him and wee Liam McStravick, and Murray Aiken on that right side, we had the overload and a bit of quality came down that right side in the second half.

“Kanayo will take pleasure in that, getting his first minutes for the club.”

Aiken has enjoyed 16 outings, with 11 of them in the starting side, and quickly became a fan favourite at the Lanarkshire club. However, an ankle fracture sustained against Dundee United in October – and which required surgery – has ruled the 19-year-old out for three months.

O’Connor, meanwhile, has helped himself to three goals in 15 appearances, one of which came against Premiership side Ross County in the Viaplay Cup, and he played a part in three of the Diamonds' four goals in their 4-2 SPFL Trust Trophy victory over Rangers B last week. Playing at a good level in the Championship, the hope at Hibs will be that all three can make a senior impact before too long.

Elias Melkersen – Strømsgodset

Back in his native Norway, Melkersen has enjoyed a productive spell in the Eliteserien. A short-term deal for the 20-year-old, for which Hibs received a fee, was agreed back in August, with the striker joining Strømsgodset for the closing stages of their league campaign.

Melkersen has made 10 Eliteserien appearances, scoring four times and earning a recall to the Norway Under-21 squad for this international break. It’s certainly an upturn in fortune from his previous loan with Sparta Rotterdam, during which he was afforded only nine minutes of first-team action, plus three outings with the Dutch club's under-21s.

With striking options somewhat thin on the ground amid injuries to Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge, another available forward would be of immediate benefit to Montgomery, and with Melkersen due back in the Capital for the second half of the cinch Premiership campaign, the Easter Road boss may have another addition to his attacking arsenal who has hopefully boosted by regular gametime and goals in Drammen.

Dan Mackay – Livingston

The winger joined fellow Premiership outfit Livingston during the summer in search of more minutes on the pitch, and has thus far made nine appearances for the league’s bottom side. The move included an option to buy at the end of the season, which indicated he would not feature in former manager Johnson’s plans moving forward.

As with all others, he will be assessed by Montgomery - but with the likes of Martin Boyle, Élie Youan and the rejuvenated Jair Tavares all ahead of him in the pecking order, Mackay would appear some way off a return to the Hibs first-team as things stand. His current Easter Road deal is up in May 2025.

Ewan Henderson – KV Oostende

An intriguing move, former Celtic youth Henderson has followed his brother Liam in heading for Europe. Signed by Shaun Maloney, there were high hopes for the versatile midfielder when he arrived from Glasgow but his impact under the previous regime was mixed, and Henderson initially turned down the opportunity to go out on loan back in January, and there was reported transfer interest in him from England as well. 

Like Mackay, Henderson’s switch to Belgium has an option to buy written into the contract, which again indicates Hibs were prepared for him to leave the club permanently next summer. It has been a productive loan thus far for the 23-year-old, scoring three times in nine appearances in the Challenger Pro League - Belgium's second tier.

He is one for which there is no obvious place in Montgomery’s 4-4-2, but the impact of Josh Campbell in recent weeks has shown that players willing to adapt can force their way into the manager’s plans.

Oscar MacIntyre, Kyle McClelland – Queen of the South

Closer to home, MacIntyre and McClelland having been playing their football under the watchful eye of ex-Hibs favourite Marvin Bartley in League One. It’s been a stuttering season so far for the Doonhamers as they sit eighth in the table, six points adrift of the play-off places.

McClelland, with a previous loan at Cove Rangers under his belt, has been a regular fixture for Queen’s with 14 appearances at centre-back. He will turn 22 in February, and you feel his development this season could be pivotal in whether he emerges into the Hibs first-team moving forward.

As for MacIntyre, this is the 18-year-old left-back’s first taste of senior football, and it has, thus far, yielded eight appearances in a highly competitive league. That includes a man of the match display in a 1-1 draw with title-chasing Falkirk earlier this month. One for the future, certainly.

Emmanuel Johnson – Austin FC II

The farthest flung of Hibs’ current loanees, the 19-year-old has enjoyed a productive spell with Austin FC II – essentially the B team of Major League Soccer side Austin FC – for most of 2023, helping his team win the MLS Next Pro Cup. 

This is his second loan deal, having previously had a short spell with Edinburgh City at the beginning of the 2022/23 season, before the decision was taken to facilitate a move back to his homeland. 

MLS Next Pro is a development division for several of the USA’s senior sides, and sits as the third tier in their domestic pyramid. Austin have an option to buy Johnson included in the loan arrangement when his term expires in December, and with the former Sacramento Republic winger having not really been near the Hibs first team since joining, it would be little surprise were he to move on.

Dylan Tait – Hamilton Accies

The 21-year-old midfielder has spent the entirety of his Hibs career - bar one brief League Cup group outing last summer - on loan, after joining the club from Raith Rovers in 2021. His latest stint is with League One title-challengers Hamilton, for whom he has made 19 appearances.

His Hibs contract is not due to expire until 2025, but it remains to be seen if he has a future at Easter Road.

Nohan Kenneh – Shrewsbury Town

There was considerable optimism around Kenneh’s signing from Leeds United in summer 2022, given he had previously been on the fringes of their Premier League squad. But within just a few months of his arrival in Scotland, Kenneh was loaned out to Ross County, and has since headed for Shrewsbury Town in EFL League One.

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The jump from academy football down south to the Scottish Premiership looked to have been a little too significant for Kenneh at that stage of his career, and while his Hibs contract runs until 2025, it already seems a long way back for the holding midfielder - but having engineered the turnaround in Tavares, the coaching staff may fancy their chances of doing likewise with Kenneh.

Joining Shrewsbury appears to have been beneficial thus far, with 17 appearances and regular call-ups to the Liberia national team under his belt.