Hibs head coach Paul Heckingbottom concedes he has had to admit defeat in his bid to bring back loan pair Marc McNulty and Stephane Omeonga.
Striker McNulty scored eight goals in 15 appearances and also earned his first Scotland caps after signing in January from Reading, while midfielder Omeonga became a fans’ favourite following a temporary switch from Genoa.
But Heckingbottom insists the club do not have the cash to re-sign the players as things stand.
He said: “It is the finance involved in these deals.
“We got Marc on loan last year but we don’t have the same deal in front of us, so it is difficult.
“We have been priced out of deals for those things.
“Stephane’s club are getting offers more than we couldn’t match, loan and permanent.
“Stephane is still keen to come here and we were keen to get him.
“But it’s too big a gap, we have been a victim of our own success with those two.
“If our financial situation suddenly changes, who knows?
“All of a sudden we may have brought in some money elsewhere and got a chance to do it.
“But we can’t go chasing something that has 10 per cent chance of happening.”
