Sergio Raimundo takes Benfica pathway 'DNA' to Hibs as assistant boss talks Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo

Sergio Raimundo had the luxury of working with Manchester City superstars Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo long before Pep Guardiola got his hands on them.

Throw in Andre Gomes, Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro and the Benfica U19 side that the current Hibs assistant coached just over a decade ago reads like a who’s who of Portuguese football. Raimundo has no shame admitting that he learned more as a young coach from those players than he himself imparted on the soon-to-become sensations. It helped set the 39-year-old on a worldwide footballing journey stretching from Senegal to Brazil and Australia before finally landing in Leith a little over two months ago alongside Nick Montgomery.

Producing young talent remains a vital part of his footballing DNA according to the Portuguese coach. At Central Coast Mariners with Montgomery the duo turned a side that had been lurking at the bottom of the A-League into champions with a team made up largely from home grown players.

The signs are already there that this will be a key feature of their Hibs side too. Rory Whittaker became the club’s youngest ever top team player at 16 years and 44 days in only their second game in charge. The full back now has six top team appearances under his belt. Josh Landers has made his bow at just 16 as well and both kids have since signed new contracts.

Raimundo said: “There’s more to come. We are investing not only time in training the first team but with the academy coaches and making sure they have good structures, organisation and facilities. There will be more to come, for sure.

“That’s the DNA. Nick was brought through the youth system at Sheffield United. He was a local boy and knows that feeling of being a local boy coming through