West Ham-linked Josh Doig on verge of Hibs exit
West Ham-linked Hibernian full-back Josh Doig is reportedly on the verge of an exit after being left out of their matchday squad today (Sunday).
According to The Daily Record, the 19-year-old has been on the radar of a number of Premier League and Championship clubs, but it’s understood that Leeds United and Arsenal are willing to match Hibs’ £5million valuation of the player.
Doig made it clear to manager Jack Ross that he wanted to play against Motherwell today (Sunday), but the Hibs boss opted against fielding him. [The Scotsman]
After a terrific season for the Scottish side, Doig won the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year award and emerged as a Hammers target.
Per The Evening Standard, West Ham showed an interest in signing the young left-back, but wanted the club to cut his transfer valuation by half to £2.5million.
Another one bites the dust
Doig is an impressive young full-back who could’ve developed into a first-team player in the next 12-18 months.
Missing out on someone with his kind of potential will undoubtedly hurt but what will pinch us more is the fact that Arsenal could sign him under our noses and he can go on to become a terrific find for them in the future.
While £5million may be considered steep for a player at that age playing in Scotland, and still relatively unproven beyond his breakthrough season in 2020/21, Doig has the tools to be a good left-back in the future and would’ve been a fantastic addition to our U-23 setup.
He’s an attack-minded full-back who’s only expected to get better with his age. Still only 19, he could be retrained as a wing-back or even a left winger and give his manager plenty of ways to deploy him on the field.
Unfortunately, we’re looking set to miss out on his services, but this should not dissuade us from signing another left-back this summer.
In other West Ham news, Thomas Skinner teases fresh PAI information imminent on West Ham takeover bid
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