Lee Johnson insists Hibs kids come first and he will never close door on flourishing in-house talent

Lee Johnson has made it crystal clear Hibs kids come first and he will never close the door on flourishing in-house talent.

But the Easter Road manager insists no one in their right mind would turn down an opportunity to exploit off-field links with major footballing superpowers in order to maximise squad strength and also tap into expertise.vJohnson is due to meet senior members of the City Football Group to discuss potential loan signings ahead of the summer transfer window.

That news sparked an angry response from former Hibee Tam McManus in his Record Sport column. The ex-striker stated he was infuriated, cited Johnson’s own talk of a snobbery down south regarding the Scottish game and also questioned a lack of chances for Hibs youths such as Josh O’Connor and Ethan Laidlaw whom he says could leave at the end of the season. However, Johnson said: “We’ve got some great young players at this club who I’m really excited about. But the reality is you have to look everywhere.

“Who in their right mind would turn down the opportunity to have a fantastic link with top clubs that are now global entities? It’s not just younger players – we’re talking about partnerships, data transfer, knowledge transfer, sponsorship.

“There are so many factors to having a good relationship with these world giants so why would you not capitalise on that? The City Football Group as an example must have about 600 players.

“And it might be a 32-year-old who has the potential to jump into a different country. Everything is assessed. If we have a young left-back coming through who we believe is going to be in the starting XI all of next year, we’re not going to be asking Liverpool, or Manchester United, or Manchester City, for their options at