Former Man Utd and Arsenal winger reveals why he signed for Hearts

Infectious enthusiasm is one of Jaedon Donkor’s character traits. With a heavy London accent, he speaks passionately about his future in Edinburgh after growing up in youth academies at Arsenal and Manchester United. He now finds himself at Hearts with a clear path for progress. Tuesday night’s Scottish Youth Cup final success at Hampden Park is intended to be just the beginning for this pacy and skillful 17-year-old winger.

Donkor was a constant menace in the 4-0 win over Queen’s Park as Hearts ended a 26-year wait to bring the Youth Cup back to Tynecastle. He signed on there last summer after United decided against giving him a contract. With suitors in both Scotland and England, the player chose Hearts because they had a specific development plan for him. One he is determined to see through to first-team level.

“I started at Arsenal from 11 to 14, going through the academy system. Then I moved to United,” says the teenager. “Both were really good learning experiences. I learned a lot at both clubs, and now I’m here. I was at those clubs but I didn’t end up getting a scholar. I didn’t sign at United, and then I got a call from Steph [Stevie Hamilton], the head of recruitment here at Hearts. He explained the pathway to me, he told me about the Hearts Way, and it sounded really good. It was like music to my ears. I couldn’t really turn it down.

“I came up for a trial and got in, but I was still in school at the time, so I couldn’t move straight away. I kind of made my decision verbally over the phone with Steph, and then I came up in the summer. Since then, I’ve just been working, keeping my head down and trying to get to the next level in my game.”

He had to navigate a protracted cross-border registration process in order to pull on a maroon shirt. “Yeah, I actually did. It was quite a challenging time, but I got a lot of help from the coaches,” admits Donkor. “I also got to experience a few bounce games with the first team, which was really good because the quality was really high. It was a challenging period, but I got through it and now we've won a cup so I can’t really complain.”

This is a wide player with the talent to get fans off their seats in anticipation. He is young and not yet ready for cut-throat first-team fixtures, however the potential is undeniable. Derek McInnes, the Hearts first-team head coach, is a manager with a penchant for wingers. He has already communicated his approval. “Yeah, we have spoken, but not loads,” says Donkor. “He’s really encouraging. Every time I speak to him, he just tells me to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s the same message from the assistants as well, so there’s nothing to complain about. I’m just learning every day by being in and around it.”

Lowland League trips with the Hearts B team took the player into a notably different environment than Arsenal and Man United academy football. To his credit, he confronted the challenge with typical appetite - even away at places like Albion Rovers, Cowdenbeath and Broxburn. “It was quite hard at first, but I got used to it. My first game was actually against Celtic B team, so I kind of eased into it as they were around my age,” explains Donkor. “From there, I just kept improving. With each game, I was taking more and more steps forward.

“I’d say it’s quite a lot more physical, but I think I’ve come up here and dealt with it quite well. The quality is still very high. Sometimes I find it challenging, but again, it’s just about learning. I think I’ve done really well with that. I’ve had a lot of help from the coaches - Lee [Wallace], David [McNeil], Gus [Angus Beith]. Since I came up here, they’ve really been around me, helping and encouraging me. From my first game to my last, you can really see the improvement. That’s down to the coaches and me putting my head down in training, working on my craft and adding more to my game.”

Learning the wing-back role is one of those additions. Donkor is a right winger who tends to drift inside onto his favoured left foot. On Tuesday, he played right wing-back and was an unqualified success against Queen’s Park. “I think it’s really good for my learning and my career because I usually play right wing. I’ve had to play a bit of a deeper role, which is making me more of an all-round player, so there’s really lots of learning to do there. Sometimes I find it quite challenging, but it’s just about learning, which is the good bit.”

He rightly revelled in the cup success, bouncing around the national stadium like a joyous kid. Which is exactly what he is. He doesn’t attempt to hide it. “I’m absolutely buzzing. It's my first season up here and actually winning a cup, I couldn’t be more happy, to be fair. I think that was our plan. As soon as we entered the cup, we just knew that we could actually win this. Our plan was just to be ruthless and relentless throughout the whole run, and we did. We got the results, as you can see, so obviously I’m really happy.”

He describes the post-match celebrations as “obviously mental”. Senior players sent video messages to inspire the young protégés and Donkor soaks them all in like a sponge. He uses that word ‘learning’ again when describing how he models himself on first-team professionals like Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga. “Yeah, 100 per cent. Especially the more attacking wingers, almost like myself,” he says. “There’s lots of stuff I can learn from them. They’re top-quality players, and it’s a good thing that they’re right there in front of me. I can see what they’re doing day in, day out.

“We got lots and lots of encouragement from the first team [before the cup final], especially as you can see how well the first team are doing. So there was a lot of encouragement from them, because they were kind of in a similar situation to us and they still are now. Just seeing some of the big stars like Shankland, Kyziridis, Braga really motivated us to come out and do well at Hampden.”