Martin Boyle did not want to leave Dundee for Hibs, according to former Dee Simon Ferry.
Boyle made an initial loan switch from Dens Park to Easter Road in January 2015, with Alex Harris heading in the opposite direction.
Boyle made the move permanent that summer and has never looked back, becoming a Scottish Cup-winner in Leith and starring for the Australian national side.
But ex-Dundee star Simon Ferry has revealed Boyle was at first unsure whether to leave Dens – and sought advice from another team-mate with major Hibs connections before committing himself.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Open Goal podcast, Ferry said to former Dark Blues and Hibees star Kevin Thomson: “People don’t know this, but you’re a massive part of [Boyle] going to Hibs, remember? He didn’t want to go, did he?”
Thomson, who has been linked with the manager’s jobs at both Dundee clubs in recent years, replied: “I know, aye. I still remember [Boyle] saying: ‘Thommo, can I get a bit of advice?’ when I was stood in the shower.
“He put me on the spot. He said: ‘I’ve maybe got a wee squeak to go to the Hibees.’
“I just washed the shampoo off my face, looked at him and said: ‘Go.’
“He wasn’t really playing at Dundee, was he?”
Ferry joked: “I was sitting next to him every week on the bench!”
Thomson continued: “He was in and out a wee bit. But he’s got blistering pace, he’s really effective and he’s really kicked on.”
Thomson spent two years at Dens Park between 2014 and 2016 under Paul Hartley and admitted he personally felt the impact of Boyle’s departure.
He said: “[Boyle] used to do my head in when I was at Dundee and I used to receive the ball, I’d want to flick it into that wee space for him to run, but he’d then come to the ball.
“He’s definitely got better, hasn’t he?
“I was gutted to see him go. We didn’t dominate games all the time, so when you went to the tougher venues, that speed coming off the bench, it helped people like myself.”
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