Why Adam Le Fondre chose Hibs - Brian McDermott link, Europe aim, Lee Johnson quirk, goals target

Hibs new boy Adam Le Fondre is ready to give everything for his new club as he boldly declared his intention to try to reach the 300-goal mark. So far the 36-year-old sits on 273 but is confident of, at the very least, putting a dent in that tally in green and white.

“I’ve threatened to come up here, north of the border, a few times in my career and it’s nice to do it now,” he told the club’s website. “The size of the club was instrumental for me choosing Hibs, and playing in Europe was a key factor as well. I’ve done a lot in my career, playing on different continents in different competitions – now to get this chance was something I couldn’t turn down.”

Le Fondre comes to Hibs off the back of 73 goals in 128 games for Sydney FC in the A-League and hopes a successful Easter Road side can help him continue to find the back of the net.

"I want to score goals. That’s a driving factor for me. I’m not far off 300 career goals now and I want to reach that,” he continued. “To do that, you have to be in a successful team. We’re striving to improve on last season and reach the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League, but a lot of hard work will have to go into that."

The transfer reunites Le Fondre with his former Reading boss Brian McDermott, now director of football at Hibs after his appointment last month. The pair worked together as the Royals won promotion to the English Premier League for only the second time in their history around ten years ago, with the Stockport-born striker having a big say in their match to the title and the big time. A chance message from McDermott sent in April last year sowed the seeds of what would turn out to be a move to the Scottish Capital, as he congratulated Le Fondre on his performance in a game against Western Sydney Wanderers. The message even ended up on the player’s Instagram account.

Coincidentally, his last match in England – before his Australian adventure – was against Lee Johnson’s Bristol City side; the match ending in a 2-2 draw. The manager’s dedication to fast, attacking football suits Le Fondre and, having played been a strong proponent of it in the English Football League, he is eager to experience it from the other side.

“Out of the blue, [Brian] texted me saying ‘how are you doing?’ I said, ‘great thanks’ and talks progressed from there,” Le Fondre explained. “I spoke with him and the gaffer and it worked out well because I’m here now. Conversations with Lee Johnson were also really good – my last game in England was actually against his Bristol City team, we drew 2-2. His teams are always very attacking, the strikers always score lots of goals. I’m still hungry and also willing to help the young players with a bit of knowledge here and there. The aim is to score plenty of goals.”