Hearts had a better transfer window than Hibs, claims former Tynecastle star

Hearts had a stronger transfer window than rivals Hibs, according to the opinion of ex-Tynecastle favourite Ryan Stevenson.

Ben Woodburn was one of seven recruits made by Hearts this summer. Picture: SNS

Robbie Neilson’s side managed to recruit seven players in the summer. They retained loanees from last season in the form of winger Josh Ginnelly and back-up goalkeeper Ross Stewart, while also adding midfielders Beni Baningime and Cammy Devlin on permanent deals and reaching season-long loan agreements for Ben Woodburn, Taylor Moore and Alex Cochrane.

They also managed to hold on to star defender John Souttar and top goalscorer Liam Boyce, while there is said to be a move in the offing for ex-Rangers winger Barrie McKay.

The attacker, who recently left Albion Rovers in cinch League Two, was impressed with the way the manager and sporting director Joe Savage conducted their business.

He wrote in the Daily Record: “Looking at the transfer business done by the Edinburgh clubs, I have to be totally honest and say Hearts had a better window than Hibs.

“Everything they've done has been very deliberate and you can see the planning they’ve put in place.

“In seasons gone past it’s been more of a scramble. They brought players in but you weren’t really sure what direction they were going in - off the park or on the park.

“This window you can see what they’re trying to do and that’s obviously down to Robbie Neilson and also Joe Savage. They’ve identified the right players to come in.”

Hibs added six players themselves. Jamie Murphy sealed a permanent move from Rangers as Jake Doyle-Hayes arrived from St Mirren, Daniel McKay from Inverness CT, and a deal for Clyde goalkeeper David Mitchell was secured on deadline day.

They also agreed loans for Middlesbrough defender Nathan Wood and ex-Motherwell forward James Scott from Hull City.

Like their rivals across the city, they were also able to keep their most in-demand players despite reports of serious interest in Ryan Porteous, Josh Doig, Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle.

The latter even agreed to a new deal with the Easter Road side, while discussions are said to be ongoing with Scotland striker Nisbet over an improved contract.

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