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Who is Deivydas Matulevicius?: Hibernian’s new powerhouse striker

| 20.07.2017

We doubt Hibernian will find themselves in a relegation scrap in the coming Ladbrokes Premiership campaign, but if they do, they’ve now got a ready made saviour in the form of new signing Deivydas Matulevicius.

The Lithuanian joins from Belgian top-flight outfit Royal Excel Mouscron, having netted in four of his 15 outings for the club last term, to help them avoid the drop by a single point.

However, REM are just the latest club in a career which has also seen the towering striker play a key role for top-flight sides in his homeland, as well as in Poland and Romania.

While he’s not quite ‘prolific’, Matulevicius does have a decent scoring record, having reached double-figures three times in his career, most recently with Romania’s Pandurii Targu Jiu in 2013-14.

However, goals are far from all the 6ft 3in striker has to offer. The 28-year-old is extremely adept at holding the ball up and winning knock-downs for striking partners.

He’s also a combative, tough-tackling player who doesn’t shy away from his duties tracking back. And while the former Cracovia man was something of a hot-head early in his career, he’s not seen red for club or country in over six years.

Talking of country, the bruising Baltic forward has been a regular presence in the national side, playing 32 times since 2011. That’s included netting winners in World Cup and European Championship Qualifiers. So there’s no doubt he can perform on the big occasion.

Oh, and one last bit of trivia – he’s the second former Mouscron man to sign a deal with the Cabbage this summer.

Goalkeeper Ofir Marciano – who made his loan more permanent – also spent time with the Belgian club in the 2015-16 season, leaving six months before his new Easter Road teammate joined the club.

Next on the calendar for Hibernian is Friday night’s visit to Ross County in the League Cup, with 7/5 on offer for Neil Lennon’s men to secure victory in Dingwall.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing

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Author

Dave Burin

Dave graduated with an MA in English Literature at Durham University, and worked in marketing before joining the Ladbrokes News team. A Man United fan and avid groundhopper, he’s also an ardent follower of Rugby League. You can usually find him at a ground near you, clutching a big cup of tea.