Former Hearts’ defender Faycal Rherras has joined Hibs on loan from KV Mechelen until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.
Born in Belgium, Rherras has played a majority of his career in his homeland, and has represented Morocco as part of their African Cup of Nations squad in 2017.
The 24-year-old left-sided defender says that he is happy to be coming back to Scotland to play once more and is looking to become a permanent fixture in Neil Lennon’s side following his move from the Belgian Jupiler Pro-League side.
Rherras told Hibernian Media: “I am very happy to be joining Hibs, it is a move that I hope will work well for myself and for the club.
“I have played in Scotland before with Hearts, so know what the game is like here and enjoyed it a lot, especially as I know the city of Edinburgh well from my previous time here.
“The atmosphere at Easter Road in last year’s derby was something special – it left a big impression on me and hopefully I can experience similar in my time here.
“My goal is to try and play as much as possible. The squad here is good, but I would like to try my best to help the team during my time here and I can do that best by playing on the pitch.”
Neil Lennon said that he is pleased to be bringing in a player of Faycal’s quality and says that he has good experience for a player of his age.
The Head Coach said: “Faycal is a very good player to be bringing into the squad, and brings with him a wealth of experience.
“He is only 24 and has a lot of good quality experience in the top-flight in Belgium and Scotland, as well as at international level.
“His previous experience in Scotland will no doubt be a positive as he knows what to expect from the league.
“We were looking to get some cover in at full-back, and Faycal comes in to provide strong competition which can only be good for the squad.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
