Ben Kensell 'pleased' Hibs sold Kevin Nisbet to fund new transfers as Martin Boyle comeback timeline revealed

Ben Kensell insists he was pleased that Hibs sold Kevin Nisbet to Millwall as it allowed them to fund several new faces this summer.

The Hibees top scorer joined the English Championship club earlier this month for a deal that could be worth up to £2.2million. Nisbet knocked back a move to south London back in January, despite travelling down for talks with the Lions. However, the deal for the capital club’s top scorer was done at the second time of asking. And Hibs responded by adding 36-year-old former Reading striker Adam Le Fondre to their squad.

He joins Elie Youan, whose loan from St Gallen was made permanent, along with former Wycombe left back Jordan Obita and Ghanaian international goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott. “It was pleasing to get the deal done for Nizzy, because that freed us up to bring in more players that we wanted to,” said Kensell. “There’s more work to be done on that front as it’s still June.

“We’ve brought in Adam Le Fondre and he's certainly going to be a weapon for us as an impact sub or even starting. Ultimately it's the sum of all parts, it’s not just about one individual.”

Nisbet’s departure will be offset somewhat by the return of Martin Boyle. The fans’ favourite is back in training after being ruled out for the remainder of the season last year with a second serious knee injury.

He was forced to miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Australia, but remained with the Socceroos squad for the remainder of their stay in the Middle East. It’s hoped he could be back in time to feature in the second leg of Hibs’ Europa Conference League qualifier against either Vikingur or Inter Club D’Escaldes next month.

Kensell added: “Martin’s a big player for the football club. We need him during the