Jonatan Johansson could be in at the deep end in his Hibs career with two meetings with Hearts within eleven days of signing his 18-month deal.

Jonatan Johnasson
"...but he's indicated to me he's willing to come in earlier ..."
Hibs could get their new signing Jonatan Johansson training with the squad before he officially becomes a Hibee. Johansson cannot be registered with Hibs until New Year's day when the January transfer window opens but he is willing to cut short his end of season break to come to Edinburgh early. Johansson had agreed with his new manager Mixu Paatelainen that he would report to the club's training ground in the middle of December. However, the former Rangers and Charlton Athletic player, signed on a pre-contract deal at the end of the season in Sweden, has approached his former international team-mate to say he would be back in training before then. Paatelainen said: "JJ is having a holiday with his wife following a long, hard season before joining us. We'd agreed he'd do so in the middle of this month but he's indicated to me he's willing to come in earlier which, I feel, just goes to show his commitment and desire to play for Hibs. I don't want to disturb his break but I am sure he'll give me a call to let me know exactly when he'll be joining us for training."

Johansson could feature in the first two Edinburgh Derbies of 2009 if all goes well as the pair meet on 3 January at Tynecastle in the league and again on 11 January at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup. Paatelainen, however, has resisted the temptation and insisted it would be better in the long-term if Johansson enjoy a break from football now rather than moving straight from Sweden now. He said: "It was very important that JJ take a break, have a while off, relax for a while and recharge his batteries before starting all over again. We are looking further ahead than just next month, we want JJ fresh and in full swing for the remainder of the season."

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