Josh Doig
He’s a recent graduate to this list, and a surprising one, but there are reasons why I like him not least of which is that he’s just won the Football Writers Young Player Of The Year Award, and we have a happy history with that one as strange as that will sound.
Amongst its previous winners are two players who were at Celtic at the time – Forrest and Tierney. But we’ve also gone on to sign Derek Riordan, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, David Turnbull and Craig Gordon either right after their winning the award or later in their careers. For a long time, we were linked with Steven Fletcher.
Only Riordan was a notable failure; the rest were successful.
This is a happy hunting ground for us. Another recent winner is also on this list.
Doig has had an outstanding debut season, of that there is little doubt.
But I’m going to be blunt; he’s played in empty grounds, devoid of screaming fans, and we have no idea how we will cope under that sort of pressure. If we’re interested in him – and it’s a big if – he’d need to be significantly better than our current left back option … and I doubt he is at the moment.
He has a lot to prove, and the club can’t afford to make a mistake. On top of that, there’s the fee which Hibs would hope to command. I have a feeling it would be wholly unrealistic and that’s a reason on its own to hold fire on this one.
Nevertheless, I find it hard to ignore his winning that award.
Almost everyone who’s won it has gone on to win honours and play for their national teams … the kid certainly has something.
But we’re looking for a first team starter in that position … he would have to be very good to accomplish that.
Still … he’s got potential, and it would be no bad thing to snap it up.