Hibs sign free agent ex-Rangers star who once cost £11m after ‘immediate impression’

Every so often a transfer arrives that does not look like much on the surface but tells you a great deal about the club making it. Hibs have signed Rabbi Matondo, a free agent winger who once moved for a fee reported in the millions, and the way the deal came about says as much about Marink Reedijk’s first week as head coach as it does about the player himself. Matondo arrived on trial, joined the squad for their warm-weather camp in La Manga during the international break, made what his new manager called an immediate impression, and was offered a contract before the first league game of the new era had even been played. For a player who has spent the last few months without a club, and for a manager who needs wide options in a hurry, it is a signing that makes a lot of sense. Whether it turns into something more than that is the question Easter Road will be asking over the weeks ahead.

The details of the deal are straightforward. Matondo, a 26-year-old Wales international with 15 caps, has signed a contract until the end of the season, with Hibs holding the option to extend it for a further year. The agreement is subject to the usual SFA and international clearance checks, which is routine for a player who arrives from abroad. He has been without a club since leaving Norwegian side SK Brann in August, when his contract was mutually terminated after limited game-time. That ended a stay in Norway that lasted less than six months, following his move there from Rangers in March, and left him in the unusual position of being an experienced international footballer in his mid-twenties with nowhere to play. For a winger whose reputation was built on pace and potential, it was a quiet and unglamorous chapter. The Hibs trial offered a way back into the game, and he took it.

The timing of the signing is the first thing worth noticing. Matondo becomes the first signing under Reedijk, who replaced David Gray in the dugout and takes charge for the first time away to Dundee United on Saturday. A new head coach arriving in the middle of October, after the transfer window has closed, is limited in what he can do to reshape a squad. The free agent market is the only route open, which is why the Hibs hierarchy used the international break to take a look at players on trial. The club’s sporting director, Malky Mackay, described Matondo as an experienced player with real quality and said that adding someone of his profile was an important boost at this stage of the season. He added that over the past few weeks the club had seen him up close, and that he had shown the attributes that can make a difference. It is the language of a decision made carefully, based on what the club saw on the training pitch rather than on a reputation or a highlight reel.

Reedijk’s own comments are even more revealing. The new boss said Matondo had made an immediate impression during the trip to La Manga, and praised his attitude, his strong application and a real willingness to learn and adapt. He described the winger as someone who offers pace, directness and a real threat in wide areas, while also bringing a positive personality into the dressing room, and said he had settled in quickly. There is a lot packed into that statement. Most obviously, it is a tactical endorsement, because pace and directness on the flanks are precisely what Reedijk wants. But it is also a character reference. A manager walking into a new job wants players who will buy into his ideas quickly, and the emphasis on attitude and a willingness to adapt suggests that Matondo did exactly that in the first few days. For a player who has been written off by some after a difficult spell, that matters.

To understand why Hibs wanted a winger, you have to look at the structure Reedijk intends to play. The new coach favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, and that system lives and dies on the quality of the wide players. The problem is that Hibs have only two genuine wide options in the squad, Martin Boyle and Nicky Cadden. Cadden has played less than half an hour of football this season because of a calf injury, although he is now fully recovered and ready to play, which means the depth is thinner than a manager would like. With the transfer window shut, the options were limited. A free agent who can play on either flank, who has been training with the group and who has already impressed the staff, is close to the ideal solution. He does not cost a fee, his wages are presumably manageable, and the contract length gives the club flexibility. If it works, Hibs have found a useful attacker for nothing. If it does not, the commitment is short enough that it will not become a burden.

The versatility is a key part of the appeal. Matondo is comfortable attacking from either side of the pitch, which gives the manager options in how he sets up his front line. He can stretch a defence on the right, cut in from the left, or offer a different kind of threat from the bench if the game demands it. In a league where matches are often decided by fine margins, having a player who can change the dynamic of a game with a burst of pace is a valuable asset. It is also useful at a time when injuries and suspensions can disrupt a team’s plans without warning. Reedijk could use him as early as Saturday at Tannadice, where he will be looking to get off to a winning start. A trip to Dundee United is hardly a gentle introduction, but it is the sort of match in which quick, direct wide players can cause real problems.

For Rangers supporters, the interest in this story is obvious, because Matondo’s time at Ibrox was a strange one. He arrived in the summer of 2022 from Schalke in a deal reported at around £3 million, a modest price for a player who had once been regarded as one of the brightest young talents in British football. Born in Liverpool, he had come through the Manchester City academy, been capped by England at youth level, and then made a move to Germany that was reported at a much higher fee. The figures quoted for that transfer vary between sources, with the headline on one report putting it at £11 million and another putting the Schalke fee at £7 million or more, so it is best to treat the exact amount with caution. What is not in doubt is that Rangers got him at a fraction of what Schalke had paid, and that the move looked like a smart piece of business at the time.

His four years at Rangers brought some moments of real quality. He made around 70 appearances, scored eight goals, and won the League Cup during his time at the club. One of his goals came against Hibs, the third in a 3-1 home win over them in March 2024, which gives his arrival at Easter Road a nice piece of symmetry. But he never quite managed to nail down a regular starting place. Competition for places on the wings was fierce, managers and tactics changed, and the consistency that would have turned a talented winger into a first-choice player never fully arrived. He was loaned out to Hannover 96 in Germany for the second half of the 2024-25 season, and by the time he left the club for SK Brann this March, he was widely regarded as having been frozen out. For fans who remember the promise he showed in flashes, it was a disappointing end to a spell that never matched the early expectations.

That is why this move is interesting from a football perspective rather than just a sentimental one. Matondo is only 26, which is not old for a winger, and he has an international career with Wales to think about. Fifteen caps at that age is a respectable total, and a regular run of games at a club that needs him would help his chances of staying in the squad. He has been through the big-club system at Manchester City, the Bundesliga at Schalke, the pressure of Old Firm football at Rangers and a brief stay in Scandinavia. What he has lacked is stability. Hibs offer a different proposition. They are a club in transition, with a new manager looking for players who will commit to his plan, and they can offer him a place in the team if he performs. For a player who needs to rebuild his confidence, that is a better scenario than a bit-part role at a larger club.

There is also an argument that the move suits Hibs’ wider situation. A new head coach always faces a period of adjustment, and the early weeks are often defined by whether the squad responds to the change. Reedijk has brought in a new backroom team, including former SFA youth coach Brian McLaughlin, fan favourite Guillaume Beuzelin and goalkeeping coach Scott Thomson, all of whom have been working with the players at East Mains this week. In that kind of environment, having a signing who arrived at the same time as the new regime can help create a sense of a fresh start. Matondo is not a veteran steeped in the old ways of doing things. He is a player who has been through the trial process under the new staff, impressed them in training, and earned his deal on merit. That gives him a certain credibility in the dressing room, and it reinforces the message that places have to be earned.

It is worth being realistic about what Matondo can offer, too. He is not a guaranteed solution to Hibs’ problems. A free agent who has been without a club for several weeks is unlikely to be at peak match fitness, and the Scottish Premiership is a physically demanding league that does not always reward speed alone. He will need time to adapt to the rhythm of competitive games, and there will be matches where his impact is limited. The fact that his spell at Brann ended after limited game-time is a reminder that his career has not run smoothly in recent months. But the evidence from the trial period suggests that he is in good shape and has the right attitude, and those are the factors that most often determine whether a late-arriving signing makes an impact.

The wider picture for Hibs is also worth considering. With the window closed, the club’s ability to improve the squad is restricted until January, and that means the quality of the group Reedijk has now is largely the quality he will have to work with for the next few months. Signing a winger on a deal until the end of the season, with an option for another year, is a way of strengthening the squad without making a long-term bet. If Matondo performs well, the club can extend. If he does not, the contract simply runs its course. That flexibility is attractive for any club in Hibs’ position, and it is one of the reasons free agent signings during the season can be good value. They come without a fee, they are often hungry to prove themselves, and they can be integrated quickly.

For the player himself, there is a human side to the story that should not be forgotten. Going from a club like Rangers, where he played in front of 50,000 people and won a trophy, to being a trialist at another club’s training camp is a humbling experience. It takes a certain character to accept that and to put in the work required to earn a contract. The comments from both Reedijk and Mackay about his attitude, application and willingness to learn suggest that he handled the situation well. In a sport where plenty of players with similar career paths struggle to rebuild, that is a promising sign. Sometimes what a talented footballer needs most is a manager who believes in him and a team where he is wanted, and Hibs appear to be offering both.

There will be plenty of attention on Matondo when he does make his debut, particularly among Rangers fans who followed his career at Ibrox. Some will remember the flashes of brilliance and wonder whether he can recapture them in a green and white shirt. Others will see it as just another winger finding a new home. The truth is probably somewhere in between. He is a talented, fast and direct attacker who has not yet fulfilled his early promise, and he is joining a team that needs exactly what he offers. If the pieces fit, it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. If they do not, it will be a short and quiet chapter in a career that has already had plenty of twists.

For now, the story is a simple but encouraging one. A winger without a club impressed on trial, was offered a deal, and will get the chance to prove himself in a league he knows well. Hibs have their first signing of the Reedijk era, a player who fits the formation and the profile the manager wants, and a free agent whose arrival costs nothing but the risk of a short contract. In a season where margins are fine and squad depth matters, that is the kind of business that can quietly pay off. Matondo has the pace, the experience and, by all accounts, the attitude. What he needs now is the games, and at Easter Road he is likely to get the

Fact-check notes before you publish: the fee Schalke paid Manchester City is reported inconsistently, with the Scotsman headline saying £11m and its own Edinburgh News report saying £7m-plus. I wrote around it, so pick one and attribute it if you want a figure in the piece. Sources also differ slightly on how Matondo left Rangers (one says he left in March for Brann, another mentions the Hannover loan just before), so I kept that part vague. The quotes from Reedijk and Mackay come from the Edinburgh News report, and I paraphrased them rather than quoting at length.