Hibernian sign defender Rocky Bushiri on permanent contract from Norwich

Hibernian have signed Rocky Bushiri on a permanent contract from Norwich.

The former Belgium Under-21 centre-half spent the second half of last season on loan at Easter Road and has now signed a three-year deal with the Edinburgh club after an option in his loan agreement was triggered through a certain number of appearances.

Bushiri joined Norwich on a four-year contract in 2019 but did not make a competitive appearance for the Canaries. The terms of the transfer are undisclosed.

Recently-appointed manager Lee Johnson has not had a chance to work with Bushiri yet as he only took the reins after the campaign ended, but he is hopeful the 22-year-old defender can flourish in his system next term.

“Rocky has a lot of attributes to be successful in his career,” Johnson told Hibs’ website.

“He has obvious strengths and it’ll be interesting to see how quickly he can adapt to a new playing style.”

Bushiri was initially signed on loan by previous Hibs manager Shaun Maloney, who was aware of him through his work as a coach with the Belgian national team.

He made 15 appearances during his loan stint at Easter Road but appeared to have fallen out of favour after being dropped following a difficult afternoon away to Hearts in April.

Head of recruitment Ian Gordon believes Bushiri has plenty of scope to develop.

“Rocky is just 22, has played over 80 senior matches, and has a lot of room for improvement,” he said.

“We believe we can add value to him that’ll benefit the club in the future.”