Josef Bursik, born on 12 July 2000 in England, currently stands as the mainstay between the sticks for Hibernian. At 24 years of age, the goalkeeper, measuring 6ft 1in (1.87m) in height and 12st 1lb (77kg) in weight, dons the number 1 jersey for the 'Hibees'.
Bursik's journey began in July 2016, where he joined AFC Wimbledon as a trainee. A year later, he signed with Stoke City for an undisclosed fee. He featured 15 times in his debut 2020-21 season and made 19 appearances in the 2021-22 season and 16 in the 2022-23 season.
In between his tenure at Stoke, he embarked on a series of loan spells. This included Accrington Stanley in August 2019 and Doncaster Rovers in August 2020, returning in June 2020 and November 2020 respectively. He also spent time at Peterborough United and Lincoln City in 2021, returning to Stoke from each loan in May and June, respectively. All loans provided invaluable experience, despite not impacting his appearance records at Stoke.
In January 2023, Bursik transferred from Stoke to Club Brugge in Belgium for an undisclosed fee. The following year, in July 2024, he found himself moving northwards to take the position as Hibernian's goalkeeper. So far in the 2024-25 season, he has made seven appearances in league matches for the club.
Moreover, he has been instrumental in the League Cup 2024 - 2025 campaign for Hibernian, where he was picked for the starting eleven in all four matches. Bursik's travels have seen him mature from a trainee to an accomplished keeper, safeguarding the goalposts from athe footballing attacks.
