Four Hearts youngsters identified for long-term Tynecastle careers as the club explains
Management are keen to see how their academy graduates develop
Four young Hearts players are expected to push for more first-team game time this season after breaking into the squad. Midfielders Aidan Denholm and Macaulay Tait, plus striker James Wilson, all became regular fixtures within the senior group at Riccarton last term, whilst midfielder Finlay Pollock is fit again after injury problems.
Denholm and Pollock are both 20 years old, with Tait 18 and Wilson 17. Hearts are reluctant to send any of them on loan for the 2024/25 campaign as they would benefit more from exposure at Tynecastle Park. How much game time they get remains to be seen but head coach Steven Naismith was impressed by their progress during the recent training camp in Tenerife.
James has grown and filled out. The three games he played in at the end of last season showed he had learned from his first game against Spartans. His positioning is much better, his understanding of movement, when he is going to take knocks and stuff. That’s really good. I would now put James in that first-team bracket. He is in and around the squad. He will still play for the B team at times but he is closer to the first team than ever before.”
Anyone frustrated at first-team level and seeking more minutes can play for the Hearts B team in the Lowland League. Dropping four divisions is a considerable change in levels and in some cases a loan to the second or third tier may be considered by Riccarton management. Generally, that is a scenario they will look to avoid.
“With us having the B team, ideally it isn’t what we want to do,” said Naismith. “We understand there will be a couple of situations where maybe we get a better test [with a loan deal for a player] and it suits. You never know, but it’s not at the front of my mind to send players out on loan. It’s something we will assess towards the end of the [transfer] window.”
Encouragingly, Naismith sees long-term futures at Hearts. for Denholm, Tait, Pollock and Wilson. “All four of those players can have Hearts careers. Whether it’s all the way through, or whether they go [elsewhere] to get some minutes and come back, I think they can all be long-term Hearts players.
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