James McFadden believes there will be teams seriously looking at SWFA Young Player of the Year nominee Josh Doig this summer.
The Hibs teenager is on the shortlist for the prestigious award long side David Turnbull, Lewis Ferguson and Nathan Patterson after only his first season as a senior player at Easter Road.
McFadden has loved what he’s seen from the former Hearts youngster in the Premiership this season but fears bigger fish could already be circling with intent to tempt him away from Leith at the end of the season.
He said: “You’ve got Doig who I think has had an unbelievable breakthrough season. He’s been a huge player for Hibs.
“He’s been exceptional and I think there'll be teams watching him for the summer. Yes they’ll be looking and saying: ‘Can he make the step up? Can he progress?’ but there will be teams looking for the summer because of the impact that he’s had.
“He runs up and down for the full game. He has an impact going forward, he’s a good defender and he plays in a team that wants to play attacking football, which suits him.”
McFadden also questioned rival fullback Nathan Patterson’s inclusion after only making a handful of top team starts for Rangers.
He told BBC Scotland: “Nathan Paterson is an extremely talented player but he's got four starts in the league all season. I think there’s other young players that have maybe played more games that maybe should be in it.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Nathan Patterson is a class act. He’s shown it already. But when you're looking at the Young Player of the Year, they should have played more games than he’s played this season.”
