Ewan Henderson had no doubt that Hibernian was the right place for him to improve after realising he would get the chance to be reunited with Shaun Maloney.
The 21-year-old has joined Hibs on loan from Celtic until the end of the season, when he will sign a three-year contract with the Easter Road club.
The attacking midfielder has already benefited from Maloney’s coaching during his time with the Celtic development squad and he quickly agreed to join Hibs after the former Scotland international was appointed on December 20.
Henderson had first learned about the Edinburgh club’s interest after netting his first Celtic goal, against Real Betis on December 9.
The 21-year-old told Hibs TV: “My agent phoned me that night and said Hibs are interested. Obviously the manager wasn’t announced then and I said I would need to wait and see who the manager was.
“As soon as I saw it was Shaun Maloney, I said ‘one million per cent, let’s get this done’.
“Shaun is a big influence in why I have chosen Hibs. When I worked under him at Celtic, he was a top manager. He made me a better player.
“He was unbelievable. He was a big influence on my career at the age of 18.
“The way he sees football, it made me look at football in a completely different way than I did before. He was a big reason that I made the step up to the Celtic first team.”
Henderson played 12 first-team games for Celtic but the Europa League tie against Real Betis was his only appearance under Ange Postecoglou.
The attacking midfielder has also featured for Dunfermline and Ross County during loan spells.
Maloney said: “Ewan is an extremely talented player. He has superb awareness and vision, he’s creative and will provide assists.
“He’s a player I really want to help to develop so he can show the league the talent he has.”
The Scotland Under-21 international follows his brother, Liam Henderson, in moving from Celtic to Hibernian.
The now Empoli midfielder set up the winner in Hibs’ 2016 Scottish Cup final triumph and encouraged his younger brother to move to Easter Road despite interest from Italian clubs.
The Hibs newcomer, whose father Nicky Henderson played for the likes of Falkirk and Partick Thistle, said: “Hibs is just the perfect place for me, it’s a massive club, fanbase is unbelievable.
“Obviously I was there in 2016 when Hibs won the Scottish Cup, so I know how much it means to the fans.
“It was an amazing day for the family. My granddad is a Hibs supporter and my dad supported Hibs when he was younger.
“For all the Hibs fans and for the family and everyone who knows Liam it was an unbelievable day that I will never forget.
“I have been face-timing Liam every day, he just said the best place to be is Hibs.”
Henderson arrived the day after 19-year-old Norwegian striker Elias Melkersen, and Hibs balanced the books by agreeing a permanent deal for Jamie Gullan to join Raith Rovers.
The 22-year-old, who has already netted 14 times for the Fifers during several loan spells, has signed a contract until 2024.
