Latest news with #ThibaultKlidje
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hibs all time XI based off fees as Thibault Klidje enters team
Thibault Klidje has been signed on a three year deal from Swiss Super League side Luzern. The club have revealed they have paid a record fee to make him their fourth summer signing after Jamie McGrath, Raphael Sallinger and Josh Mulligan. He previously featured in France's Ligue 1 with Bordeaux before signing for Luzern in 2022. Big spending isn't something Hibs have been afraid of in the recent past and through the last couple of decades but how does an expensively assembled team with Klidje involved look? Based off known fees over those undisclosed, here's the most expensive Hibs XI based on position in a 4-4-2 system, including the club's new recruit.
Scotsman
13 hours ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Scottish football has a new ecosystem - it won't threaten Celtic and Rangers but others are in trouble
Hibs' breaking of their transfer record is further evidence of 'middle' three breaking away Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sleepy summer Sundays are not usually when Scottish football clubs break their record transfer fee. So Hibs' announcement at 10am on July 13 that they had completed the signing of Thibault Klidje, in the process spending their first-ever seven-figure sum on a footballer, caught pretty much everyone off-guard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Not one media outlet in Scotland had been on the scent of Klidje, who has spent the past three years playing for Luzern in Switzerland. He's a 24-year-old forward who is speedy and tricky. He netted 12 times in the Super League last term and posted his best figures in his professional career. Hibs and Aberdeen have already spent big this summer. | SNS Group Hibs say they had been monitoring the Togolese internationalist for some time. A new striker was a necessity for the Easter Road side, given they only have Martin Boyle, Kieron Bowie and Elie Youan on their books. Klidje's arrival boosts Hibs ahead of their Europa League Conference League qualifier against FC Midtjylland next week. Hibs' spent close to £700,000 on Dylan Vente two seasons ago and had the Dutch striker hit his add-on targets, then the total fee to Roda JC would have outstripped the full £700k paid to LCU Quito way back in 2001 for Ecuadorian Ulises de la Cruz. It has taken the capital outfit 24 years to surpass that amount. Hibs' financial figures earlier this year made for grim reading, posting a £7.2million loss that has been underwritten by the club's wealthy American owner Ian Gordon. The next set of accounts won't likely be a whole lot better, as the work undergone by sporting director Malky Mackay to correct years of erroneous spending and lengthy, costly contracts is still ongoing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs have to keep pace with their peers But Hibs cannot stand still. Finishing third in the Premiership last season, when back in December relegation looked entirely possible, has given them a huge shot in the arm. They will be cursing Aberdeen - and probably Celtic too - for how the Dons won the Scottish Cup to pinch guaranteed league-phase European football this term, although they can still reach that promised land should they navigate qualifiers. Hearts and Aberdeen have now had two bites at the Conference League proper and the relative riches it brings. While Hibs might not get there this season, they are among a trio of clubs that is threatening to create its own ecosystem within the jungle that is Scottish football. It is becoming increasingly common for Scottish football's 'middle three' to splash the cash - be it on transfer fees or wages. In addition to Klidje, Hibs paid money to Hartberg for Austrian keeper Raphael Sallinger this summer and Josh Mulligan from Dundee may not come cheap depending on the outcome of a development tribunal. Throw in the wage afforded to key defender Rocky Bushiri to keep him in Leith and a pretty penny has already been spent. Tony Bloom has invested in Hearts. | Getty Images Across the city, Hearts are embarking on their new spending adventure too. With Tony Bloom ploughing in £9.86m last month and becoming a shareholder, there is fresh investment and a new player database in Jamestown Analytics to use. Already forwards Claudio Braga and Elton Kabangu have been bought for not insignificant six-figure fees, while star striker Lawrence Shankland finally penned a new contract. Bluntly, that won't have come cheap. Hearts still want an array of wingers to help new head coach Derek McInnes hit the ground running. The spending is unlikely to stop there. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Up at Pittodrie, Aberdeen are more than content to keep pace with the Edinburgh duo. Owner Dave Cormack and his associates announced an £8m investment into the Dons last month, part of it to upgrade the training facilities, and manager Jimmy Thelin has also been backed significantly in his first 12 months in charge. This summer, the Dons have paid six-figure sums for winger Nicolas Milanovic and left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi, while last season it is understood more than £2m combined was shelled out on defenders Kristers Tobers and Alexander Jensen, midfielder Sivert Nilsen and winger Topi Keskinen. Winning the Scottish Cup and the rewards that follow is no doubt vindication of the outlay, even if the Dons ended up finishing fifth in the league. Is the Premiership's top-five already set in stone? What will the Premiership's top five look like in May next year, though? While the spending of Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs at this stage seems unlikely to get them a great deal closer to Celtic and Rangers, it is surely creating a larger gap between them and the rest of the league. Dundee United finished fourth last season and under Jim Goodwin, did very well upon their return to the top flight. They've spent money on goalkeeper Yevgeniy Kucherenko and defender Iurie Iovu in this window - but not as much as Hibs, Hearts or the Dons. Their top wage will also get nowhere near that trio. Spending money is no guarantee in Scotland - it has been rare for the top five to follow the natural SPFL foodchain. But it feels like Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs are fishing not just in a different pond, but an ocean to the seven other sides in the division. In theory, it should allow them to cope better with the juggling act of European and domestic football. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Recently, United, St Mirren and Kilmarnock have capitalised on a poor season from one of the bigger clubs to jump into the top five and grab a slice of the European pie. The chances of such profligacy from them now are slimmer as the financial gulf becomes bigger. Are they, plus Motherwell, Dundee, Livingston and Falkirk mere also-rans in this race, fighting for one final berth in the top six and survival from relegation?
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Record-breaking Klidje deal 'underpins Hibs desire'
We asked for your views after Hibernian broke their transfer record to sign Togo striker Thibault Klidje from Luzern. The fee is undisclosed, but Hibs' previous record was the purchase of Ecuadorian defender Ulises de La Cruz back in 2001 for a fee of around £700,000. Advertisement Here's how some of you reacted: John: Klidje looks a great signing. Pace, power and guile and he's already proven himself in a good league. Watching his highlights there is more than a touch of Martin Boyle about him, which can only be a good thing. Great to see the club showing ambition and backing David Gray. Scott: Must be some player if Hibs splash that amount of cash on him. Good luck! Disco: It's an ambitious but risky signing. Then again so were Dylan Vente and Elias Melkersen and we made profit on them when it didn't work out. Just need one more striker plus Nectar Triantis and we're good 'Togo'. Advertisement Mark: I worry a bit about this kind of signing, considering how much money we have wasted since the Gordon family took over. A lot of our more expensive signings haven't really worked out. Hopefully Malky MacKay and Gray know what they are doing here, and at least Gray has shown he can get more out of players than our previous managers. I do wonder why we'd spend £1m or so on a gamble from abroad, though, when we could have had the likes of Sam Dalby for free. Ted: Can only hope he hits the ground running, unlike the other "big" signings we've had in previous seasons. Seen some fans of rival teams laughing about his rating on Fifa, they won't be laughing when he puts a few away against them. Liam: We are winning the lot. Derek: This signing underpins our desire to kick on after our great finish last season. The Gordon family have stepped up in my opinion. Very pleasing. Neil: Hopefully the real deal, and not another guy who looks good on a few YouTube videos. But got to give the boy a chance to adapt to Scottish football and the media scrutiny.
Scottish Sun
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Hibs' record signing claims his agent ‘violently attacked him after forcing his illiterate parents to sign contract'
AGENT'S 'ATTACK' Hibs' record signing claims his agent 'violently attacked him after forcing his illiterate parents to sign contract' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HIBS' new record signing Thibault Klidje once had to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to escape the clutches of his own agent after he 'violently attacked' him. And the striker has revealed how his greatest moment in football was being in the same Togo squad as the country's most famous star - former Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Real Madrid ace Emmanuel Adebayor. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Hibs have splashed out to sign Thibault Klidje Credit: Alamy Hibs splashed out a huge fee to land the 24-year-old from Swiss club Luzern. But former Bordeaux star Klidje's footballing journey was far from plain sailing as he explained in an interview earlier this year. He said: "There was a huge amount of poverty growing up in Togo. "I started playing football very early, participating in tournaments and there were always men at those tournaments - let's call them agents - who watched you, wanted to help you, and tried to take you under their wing. "My agent helped me at first, which I will always respect. But he forced my parents to sign a contract. "My father was polygamous until his death and had several wives and both my parents were illiterate so they didn't know what they were signing. "It basically signed over exclusive rights to my life on and off the pitch and took commission far over the normal amount and he attacked me violently and threatened my family. "It was very hard. I considered him a brother at first. And then everything changed from one moment to the next. "What he did to me was truly... I can't say inhumane, but it really affected me deeply." The unnamed agent then arranged a transfer to Congolese club TP Mazembe and demanded he sign a five-year deal, but Klidje managed to find another agent who got him a contract with Bordeaux, prompting the matter to escalate. Hibs chief Malky Mackay on his Celtic team-mate who could've been as good as Henrik Larsson Eventually, the dispute was decided at Switzerland's Court of Arbitration for Sport where his contract with the original agent was declared void after the court ruled his parents did not understand what they signed. Klidje admitted: "When something like this happens to you, it's very difficult to trust anyone anymore. But it's not the end of the world. In life, you always meet people who are good for you." And he eventually got to be a teammate with Togo legend Adebayor, who gave him some personal tutoring. Klidje recalled: "He's an idol for the entire country. We were in the national team squad twice at the same time. "But I was very nervous being in the same squad as him! "When you get a chance to play with the best player ever from Togo, you automatically give it your all, pass the ball to him and listen to him to see if you can learn something from him. "And he was very helpful to me." 2 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Record-breaking Klidje deal 'underpins Hibs desire'
We asked for your views after Hibernian broke their transfer record to sign Togo striker Thibault Klidje from fee is undisclosed, but Hibs' previous record was the purchase of Ecuadorian defender Ulises de La Cruz back in 2001 for a fee of around £700, how some of you reacted:John: Klidje looks a great signing. Pace, power and guile and he's already proven himself in a good league. Watching his highlights there is more than a touch of Martin Boyle about him, which can only be a good thing. Great to see the club showing ambition and backing David Must be some player if Hibs splash that amount of cash on him. Good luck!Disco: It's an ambitious but risky signing. Then again so were Dylan Vente and Elias Melkersen and we made profit on them when it didn't work out. Just need one more striker plus Nectar Triantis and we're good 'Togo'.Mark: I worry a bit about this kind of signing, considering how much money we have wasted since the Gordon family took over. A lot of our more expensive signings haven't really worked out. Hopefully Malky MacKay and Gray know what they are doing here, and at least Gray has shown he can get more out of players than our previous managers. I do wonder why we'd spend £1m or so on a gamble from abroad, though, when we could have had the likes of Sam Dalby for Can only hope he hits the ground running, unlike the other "big" signings we've had in previous seasons. Seen some fans of rival teams laughing about his rating on Fifa, they won't be laughing when he puts a few away against We are winning the This signing underpins our desire to kick on after our great finish last season. The Gordon family have stepped up in my opinion. Very Hopefully the real deal, and not another guy who looks good on a few YouTube videos. But got to give the boy a chance to adapt to Scottish football and the media scrutiny.
