Matthew Hoppe has been sent north of the border for the remainder of the Scottish Premiership season as Hibernian completed a loan move for the forward from Middlesbrough on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old, who joined the English Championship side last summer from Mallorca, has only made six appearances off the bench this season for Boro.
Hoppe started his professional career in Germany with Schalke and made history on Jan. 9, 2021, when he became the first American to score a hat-trick in their 4-0 win over Hoffenheim. He went on to score six total goals for the Royal Blues before heading to Spain in August 2021 in a transfer to Mallorca.
The move to the Spanish island did not work well for the California native as he only made five appearances in the league for the Pirates.
Now, Hoppe will hope to get his club career rolling again and get more playing time with the Edinburgh-based team that is looking to lock down a spot for the Championship phase in the Scottish top tier a European place for next season.
“We’re delighted to add Matthew to the group as he’s someone that’ll add extra quality in the final third,” said Hibs head coach Lee Johnson in a statement on the team’s website. “He’s a talented player that can play in all three positions across our front-line and someone that joins with good experience being a full US international and that has played regularly in the Bundesliga.”
“We look forward to working with him and welcome him to the Club.”
Hoppe could get his first opportunity to see action for Hibs when they face St. Mirren on Saturday at the SMISA Stadium.
