Andrew Shinnie’s Scottish return strengthens Hibernian’s title push
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Hibernian last night confirmed the arrival of Birmingham City midfielder Andrew Shinnie on a season-long loan.
Neil Lennon’s side are expected by many to blitz this year’s Championship – with one punter backing the Leith-based club to go unbeaten this season at 40/1 back in June – and the arrival of Andrew Shinnie from Birmingham City will only further add to that expectation.
Having spent the last three seasons in England playing under Gary Rowett at the Blues (and most recently a loan spell at Rotherham), 27-year-old Shinnie is returning north of the border for the year and will likely be a key figure in Lennon’s plans this season.
The Scotland international came up against his new manager twice in last season’s Championship, and once in pre-season as Hibs ran out 1-0 winners with the attacking midfielder clearly catching Lennon’s eye.
Speaking about his move to Easter Road, Shinnie said: “I played here before from my past days in Scotland. I know how big a club this is, how big the fanbase is and a lot of factors came into account.”
Capturing Shinnie has to be considered a real coup the the Hibees, the midfielder having never represented a Scottish club in a division below the Premiership.
And Hibs fans will be hoping Shinnie will pick up where he left off in Scottish football, having notched an impressive 12 league goals in his last season for Inverness Caledonian Thistle before leaving for the Midlands on a free transfer in 2013.
It’s likely Shinnie will feature in Saturday’s game away at St Mirren, and it’s 4/5 for Hibs to maintain their 100 per cent record this season.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
