Dundee managing director John Nelms has warned Hibs that only a “compelling” offer will price the in demand player away from Dens Park.
But the Easter Road outfit are STILL waiting for an official response to their latest bid for the midfielder.
Following Hibs’ reported £750,000 bid for the Dark Blues captain, McCowan is expected to draw a lot of attention when the teams play tomorrow afternoon in Edinburgh.
Although Celtic is also rumored to be interested, Dundee is unlikely to make a decision before next Friday’s transfer deadline, but Hibs is still keen to complete a deal.
In an interview with The Warm-Up podcast, Nelms commended his player for his behavior during the rumors before stating, “The money has to be compelling.” It’s not as though we’re raising funds to pay the bills or something.
“We’re investing in the organisation. The fans are investing in the organisation. So we have to be very careful in why we do it. And it has to be compelling.
“It can’t just be: ‘Oh a couple of hundred grand here, a couple of hundred grand there.’ And it has to be the right time.
“We’re talking from kids at 16 all the way up. What is the right time to go? What do their families want out of this?
“It does look to the fan base like it’s quite black and white. But it’s anything but.
“Luke’s a credit to himself. Luke’s our captain. He’s handling of all the attention really, really well.
“He says: ‘I’m a Dundee player, I’m the captain, I have a responsibility, this is what I do. Whatever happens, happens.’ So he’s been a credit to himself.”
Hibs boss David Gray, meanwhile, does NOT expect to have Elie Youan or Junior Hoilett available for tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership clash, which will see the home side seek to win their first league points of the season. Although both attackers are back in training, neither is ready for game time just yet.
With Hyeokkyu Kwon, the Celtic midfielder on loan, healthy and ready to play, Gray is aware of what to anticipate from Tony Docherty’s Dundee, stating: “Tony’s done a fantastic job.” They’ve had a great start. They are a really energetic club that makes you play a lot of defense and they have scored a lot of goals.
We’ll be ready for what is ahead because their team is full of talented football players. We must ensure that we get off to the best possible start in the game.
Your only option is to concentrate on what’s in front of you. Although we’ve made things more difficult for ourselves, it’s been a difficult start overall, and there are many advantages. The team is constantly evolving as the players spend more time learning from me and the staff how we want to operate together.
“Saturday’s another chance to go and put that into practice. I’m delighted where everyone is physically, and we’ve got a healthy squad available.”