Jair Tavares completes Hibs move as Lee Johnson hails signing 'coup' after landing Portuguese winger

Lee Johnson has hailed a Hibs signing "coup" after landing Jair Tavares from Benfica.

The Portuguese wide man has penned a four-year deal at Easter Road after passing a medical earlier today.

Johnson is keen to add wingers to his squad as he puts his own stamp on the squad he inherited from Shaun Maloney.

And Tavares, who is the cousin of Lille and Portugal star Renato Sanchez, has become his latest summer signing in Leith.

They faced competition from Dutch outfit Go Ahead Eagles, but Hibs have won the race to land the Under 19 international.

The 21-year-old made 24 appearances for the Lisbon giants' B team last year, scoring four times and providing one assist.

He joins David Marshall, Nohan Kenneh, Lewis Miller, Momodou Bojang and Rocky Bushiri as Johnson new recruits, and the Hibees' boss believes the club have pulled of a coup in landing Tavares.

“Completing the deal to bring Jair to Hibernian FC is a real coup for this football club," he said.

“He’s an incredibly talented winger that’ll not only improve our first team squad, but is someone that has a lot of potential to develop into a top player in this league.

“Jair is an exciting, attacking talent that adds speed and trickery to our wide areas. We welcome him warmly to Hibs and look forward to working with him.

“I’d also like to thank the staff at Hibernian FC, Benfica, Jair’s father Adriano, and his agent for their work in getting this deal done.”

Head of recruitment Ian Gordon added: “It’s not often you are able to get a player of Jair’s quality for the terms agreed in this transfer.

“He’s a player we’ve monitored closely for a period of time and were able to take advantage of a specific clause in his contract. He is a real talent that’ll only get better.”