Matthew Hoppe had been a spectator for most of his time with English Football League Championship side Middlesbrough, but the American forward now has a major opportunity to spark his future with a positive loan spell away from Teesside.
Hoppe has joined Scottish Premiership club Hibernian on loan for the remainder of the league season, both clubs announced Tuesday. The U.S. men’s national team forward is fresh off of international duty with Anthony Hudson’s squad and will head to Edinburgh for this weekend’s showdown with St. Mirren.
“We’re delighted to add Matthew to the group as he’s someone that’ll add extra quality in the final third,” Hibs manager Lee Johnson said in a club interview. “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 U.S. international and that has played regularly in the Bundesliga.
“We look forward to working with him and welcome him to the Club,” Johnson said.
Hoppe, 21, joined Middlesbrough in August 2022, but has struggled for a consistent role in Michael Carrick’s squad. The California native made six appearances for the English second-tier squad, while also scoring five goals in five appearances for Middlesbrough’s Under-23 team.
Hoppe broke onto the scene with six goals for Bundesliga side Schalke from Nov. 2020-Aug 2021, before moving to Mallorca following Schalke’s relegation. However, his move to La Liga did not lead to more playing time, as Hoppe only appeared in seven matches for the Spanish club.
Hoppe has earned eight caps for the USMNT to date, scoring one goal in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Hibernian’s 1-1 draw with Ross County on Tuesday moved the Scottish club to fifth place in the league standings. Hibs has only two league matches in February, Saturday’s trip to St. Mirren before a Feb. 18th home match vs. Kilmarnock.
You have to wonder what where would he be if he just stayed at Schalke – a club that he had already proved himself too.
how do i put this. i was concerned at the point of his move. i felt like a 5 goal spurt over very few games on a schalke team that started that year with him firmly in the reserves (for whom he didn’t set the world on fire), and then brought him and others up as an emergency because they had money troubles and were trying to stay up, was “rushed” and “not definitive.” rushed in the sense he looks raw to me, like he maybe should have been a reserve longer. that he was forced into first team action. the streak also struck me as not definitive in the sense it was like 3-4 games i think and then back cold again and never the same since. that comes across like a fluke. i was concerned this was the case and thought like you did — it wouldn’t be the worst choice in the world to follow schalke down to B.2 and show it wasn’t a fluke and put up some full season numbers. and maybe sandpaper some of the rough spots.
the difficulty i see is he needs some work but is now sort of across the bridge into being a senior player. developmentals get taught on the age group and reserve teams. senior first team players to me they tend to want a prepared product. i think hibernian is more appropriate to his level — spain was just silly when IMO it was unclear if his brief B.1 form was a myth — but even in scotland he may stand some sandpapering. he just looked unconfident and sloppy the other day. shell of the 21 gold cup kid. i think playing time is huge, college or beyond.
Still think he should have gone to Atlanta when Atlanta wanted him on loan.
he looked like a shell of himself so hopefully he plays this time and gets his swerve back.