Ryan Shanley has agreed a loan move to League of Ireland side Finn Harps which runs until June 2021.
The 20-year-old Academy graduate has trained consistently with the Hibs’ first-team squad earlier this season and made his debut in September’s 3-0 win over St Mirren.
A loan to Lowland League Kelty Hearts followed in December with Shanley enjoying a bright start before the campaign was suspended.
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.”
The move sees Shanley link up with former academy teammate Kosovar Sadiki who joined the club in 2020 and recently re-signed for the upcoming season. He said: “When the opportunity came up to come to Harps I was in touch with Kos to see what he thought. He told me he thought it’d be a good move for me, to come in and play at a good level with a good group.
I’m delighted to be here. The boys have been great welcoming me in and I’m looking forward to the first game against Bohs. The main thing for me is to get minutes on the pitch, try to score as many goals as I can and do my best to help the team and get points on the board.
“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”
Ollie Horgan told FinnHarps.ie, “Ryan has done well so far since he’s come in. It’s not easy for a young player to move to a new country, especially with everything going on at the moment. He gives us another option up front and hopefully we can give him an opportunity to get some experience under his belt and improve his game.”
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.
