HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen was today closing in on his second signing of the summer after French youngster Steven Thicot made a surprise appearance in last night's glamour friendly with Barcelona.
The 21-year-old, who played as a trialist against Raith Rovers at Stark's Park last week, replaced Ian Murray in midfield for the second half of the clash at Murrayfield, a game which Hibs lost 6-0.
Although Paatelainen declined to reveal Thicot's
identity at that stage, he was named among Hibs' substitutes to face Barca even although he was still, technically, a trialist.
But today Paatelainen revealed he has high hopes of persuading the 6ft 2in star to sign on at Easter Road.
Thicot, a product of the French national academy at Clairefontaine, won the European Under-17 Championships with France four years ago but is now a free agent having been released by Nantes.
Paatelainen said: "He is a good player, he can play various roles and we are now working hard towards a contract. Hopefully, he will join us.
"Steven has been through all the national teams in France, he's played with all the top names. He has plenty of ability and he tells me he is a very ambitious player which I like."
Explaining the decision to disclose Thicot's identity last night, Paatelainen said: "He was a trialist but we didn't want to simply put him down as such, an unknown player, against Barcelona and I wouldn't have done so it he wasn't a serious candidate for a contract."
Paatelainen, meanwhile, was up at 4.30 this morning to watch the entire match again before going over the tape once more with his players. But he insisted it wasn't the six-goal mauling from the Spanish giants which had led to a sleepless night.
He said: "I was tired so I felt if I had a couple of hours' sleep I would be fresher and more able to concentrate. I had four hours sleep and now I feel as fresh as a daisy."
But while admitting there were incidents during the 90 minute masterclass dished out by Pep Guardiola's side which made him shudder, Paatelainen also claimed there were others which met with his approval.
He said: "I know people will look at the result but the only way to learn is to test yourself and there's no doubt Barcelona are a quality side and it will be good for our players to realise how they play football.
"It's how you cope with what happened which is the crucial part. You analyse it and go through the match with the players, what we did right and what we did wrong.
"It's a great learning experience. There was some bad stuff but also some good stuff, some individual brilliance from the Barcelona players and some clumsy play from our players.
"But, to be honest, I cannot wait to see the game with the players. I know it will be painful, every goal going in is like a knife into your body but that's the only way to learn."
He added: "I was really pleased with the effort and application the players showed. Many players with weak mentalities would simply have folded. However, we had some good performances in flashes from our players on what was a difficult night."
The full article contains 561 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
