Neil Lennon has said that the loan signing of Ryan Gauld is imminent and the player can help his Hibs side unlock defences in the second half of the season.

Gauld has already arrived at the club's winter training base in Dubai but is waiting for the formalities of his switch from Portugal's Sporting to be completed.

Hibs head coach Lennon told STV that having the attacker join the players early could only benefit him.

"There's still a little bit of paperwork to be done," he said. "Obviously he can't train until that's all confirmed but there's no deep issue, it's just a matter of time.

"There'll be familiarity with some of the players and it's good that he's integrating quickly in this sort of environment. That'll maybe help him settle into the club quicker than he normally would."

Gauld will be expected to add chances to Hibs attack and lennon was confident that he could deliver, but he said that was all the more necessary after it was confirmed that Martin Boyle faces a long spell on the sidelines.

"The creativity is something that we lacked, there's no question of that," he said. "And I'm pretty sure with what we've seen of him lately and what we know from the past, that Ryan will bring that.

"It's definitely in that front third of the pitch that we're hoping to improve. Losing Martin is a huge blow and it looks like it's going to be for the season because rehabilitation is going to take a few months.

"A very important player we've lost on top of some other important players we've lost in the last six months."