Jamie Maclaren's departure from Hibernian is expected to be confirmed in the coming days with a report in the Australian striker's homeland claiming he is on the verge of signing for Melbourne City.
Maclaren has struggled to make the same impact as he did when arriving on loan from German side SV Darmstadt last January. The 25-year-old scored eight goals in 15 games in that spell, including a memorable hat trick against Rangers at Ibrox in the final match of the season, prompting Hibs to bring him back on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Maclaren scored his first goal for Australia against Palestine at the Asian Cup but a back injury curtailed his performances this time around and he has managed just one goal in all competitions.
The report in the Sydney Morning Herald claims that "Melbourne City are increasingly confident they will snare the signature of Socceroos frontman Jamie Maclaren in time for the sharpshooter to lead their attack for their trip to Sydney next Sunday.
"It is understood that he is likely to put pen to paper on a multi-season deal, which would ultimately see him paid as one of the club's marquee players next season.
"Now that the Socceroos have been dumped from the Asian Cup - beaten by hosts United Arab Emirates in the quarter-final in the early hours of Saturday morning - the pursuit of the former Brisbane Roar hitman has intensified."
Maclaren was very prolific during his previous spell in the A-League scoring 42 times in all competitions during two seasons at Brisbane.
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