Hibs striker Ryan Shanley joins Finn Harps on loan

Last updated : 26 February 2021 By Steve Forbes

Hibs have tonight revealed that young forward Ryan Shanley has joined Irish side Finn Harps on loan.

The 20-year-old will stay with the League of Irealnd side until June.

Shanley has already made his first team debut this season, and was loaned out to Kelty Hearts earlier in the season, and started brightly scoring 2 goals in 3 games, only for the season to be suspended due to a second Covid-19 lockdown.

Speaking to the official club website, Hibs Sporting Director Graeme Mathie said:

“We are pleased to confirm this loan for Ryan to Finn Harps.

“Part of our strategic plan to develop young players is to look to place them in different countries or leagues on loan so they benefit from a range of challenges and experiences.

“We have dealt with Finn Harps recently and we know that Ryan will be well looked after by Ollie Horgan and his staff.

“Ryan was playing regularly and scoring goals for Kelty Hearts before the latest restrictions cut short his spell there. Full credit to Ryan for embracing this challenge and opportunity.

“Not only will he take on the challenge of competing in the League of Ireland, but he’ll also learn from the experience of living away from home for the first time and taking responsibility of his training and development away from the Hibernian Training Centre.

“The League of Ireland is of a good standard and we look forward to seeing Ryan’s progress between now and the summer. We hope he returns to us ready to compete for a first-team place.”

Shanley added:

"First off, I'd like to thank Kelty Hearts for the opportunity and I'm sorry it was cut short the way it was. Hopefully the lower leagues can be up and running again as soon as possible.

"Now I'm excited for the next few weeks and months in a totally different environment. Everything I've heard and seen so far is positive and I'm looking forward to getting started properly."