Millwall have retained strong interest in Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet – but summer transfer is not imminent

Millwall have retained their strong interest in Kevin Nisbet but a deal for the Hibernian striker is not imminent at this stage of the transfer window.

The Lions had lined up a January switch for the Scotland international only for the switch to break down.

But the Championship side are still big admirers of the 26-year-old Glaswegian as they look to boost their firepower for next season.

Nisbet ended a two-year absence from the Scottish squad when he was selected for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers. Steve Clarke’s side will face Norway on June 17 before hosting Georgia on June 20.

Nisbet’s chances of an international recall were boosted by Southampton’s Che Adams missing out due to injury.

“Disappointing for Che but a chance for Kevin Nisbet to come back into the squad,” said Clarke. “Kevin’s a goalscorer and we know the qualities that he brings us.”

A cruciate knee injury prevented Nisbet from featuring for Hibs until the middle of December but he finished with 12 goals in 20 appearances.

He scored in their final two fixtures of the campaign, a 4-2 win over Celtic and a 1-1 draw with bitter rivals Hearts.

Nisbet had recently conceded that the Celtic match could be his final home game as a Hibs player.

“My agent and the club are in good dialogue with each other and I’ve said I kind of want to stay out of it,” he told Scottish media. “I just want to focus on finishing the season well.

“I’ve been there before where January moves have fallen through and I think I didn’t deal with it previously as well as I did this time.

“I wanted to come back and enjoy my football – and I have.”

Asked about his performances since returning from his knee injury, Nisbet said: “I’ve probably come back a better player as well. I knew in my head I would but there were a lot of doubters – so it’s good to silence the doubters a bit as well.

“It was a long and very lonely nine months out but I put in a lot of hard work and I think people can see with my performances how hard I actually worked.”