Hibs have this evening announced the signing of Forest Green Rovers striker Christian Doidge.
Doidge, 26, has signed in a deal worth £350,000 in a real statement of intent from the Hibees.
The 6ft 2in Welsh striker has signed a 3-year-deal at Easter Road and becomes boss Paul Heckingbottom's fourth signing of the summer.
Doidge follows Scott Allan (Celtic), Adam Jackson (Barnsley) and Joe Newell (Rotherham) in heading to Edinburgh this transfer window.
Speaking to the official website, Doidge said:
“I felt like I knew exactly what he wanted from me within 10 seconds. He’s very clear in his instructions and I think it will really suit my game.
“I’m looking forward to working under him.
“I like getting after the ball with a high work-rate, making a nuisance of myself for defenders and playing off the shoulder. I like to attack crosses – just an all-round number nine, really.”
Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom added:
“We think Christian’s signing is a real statement of intent and I’m delighted we were able to fend off other interested clubs to secure his signature.
“The recruitment staff here have been looking at Christian for a while now and he’s also someone who was on my radar.
“We think he’s well suited to Scottish football, whether that’s leading the line or working with a partner.
“Christian is intelligent, has good movement, scores different types of goals, can handle himself physically and will press well from the front.
“He gives us something different up top.”
Doidge joins the Hibess after another good season with Forest Green, after it looked like he was on his way to Bolton. He joined Bolton on an initial loan last summer, with a view to a £1m January move, but the deal fell through due to Bolton's financial struggles and he returned to Forest Green.
EDITOR'S THOUGHTS:
This could be a real coup for Hibs, he is a proven goalscorer in the lower leagues in England.
Some well known names have started at that level or dropped down to it and worked their way back up, Adam Le Fondre, Charlie Austin, Jamie Vardy and Jamie Cureton are a few names that come to mind.
Doidge has earned the chance of a crack at a higher level than League Two, which the Scottish Premiership clearly is.
However, Hibs still have work to do on the striker front. Florian Kamberi and young Oli Shaw are the only other striking options.
Heckingbottom still wants to sign former loan forward Marc McNulty, but Reading are looking to recoup a fair chunk of the £1m they paid for him.
Kamberi is also wanted by Croatian side NK Osijek, with Hibs said to be looking for north of £750,000 for the Swiss striker.
Do Hibs sell Kamberi and use the money to finance a bid for McNulty and put him in a partnership with Doidge?
If that happened, Hibs would still probably need to bring in a 4th, back-up striker to compete with Shaw.
Or do you loan Shaw out to gain experience and bring in an experienced back-up striker?
Interesting times ahead at Easter Road.
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