Elie Youan has praised manager Lee Johnson for going out of his way to help him settle in his early weeks at Hibernian.
The 23-year-old French attacker moved to Easter Road earlier this summer on a season-long loan from Swiss side St Gallen.
Youan has been impressed with his new boss’ man-management skills and believes the relationship the pair have already forged can help him flourish in the cinch Premiership this term.
“I’m having a lot of experience with this manager – he talks to me a lot during training, during games and also outside the training,” he said. “He is very friendly, I talk a lot with him on WhatsApp.
“He is very interested in myself and I appreciate that. I think the relationship between player and manager is very important when you are a new player so I am happy to have that. I think this is the best place to develop myself.”
Youan, who feels he is perfectly suited to the “physical” nature of the Scottish game, has enjoyed his time at Hibs so far.
“I feel good here,” he said. “The adaptation has been good. I like the country, the city, the fans and the team-mates, and those are the most important things to doing well.
“I have been in the city with some team-mates and I really love the city. I live close to the water which is good for training and enjoying my time.
“I am not thinking about what happens at the end of my loan. I am just focused on my football and I will see what happens after.”
Youan is yet to score in his two games so far but he was named the sponsors’ man-of-the-match after setting up Martin Boyle’s stoppage-time equaliser in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with city rivals Hearts, a goal that sparked jubilant scenes inside Easter Road.
“I was not thinking about being the man-of-the-match but I think that is good for my first game at home,” he said of his derby exploits. “The most important thing is the team so I was really happy to give an assist at the last minute to make a draw.
“I was very surprised and very happy with the atmosphere because the fans were behind us from the beginning to the end of the game and I really love that. I hope it will be the same for the whole season.”
