Hearts name European squad for Conference League as summer signing added and two recruits miss out
Hearts have named their squad for matches in the Conference League.
Hearts have named their European squad for six Conference League clashes in the first half of the season.
Head coach Wouter Vrancken had to submit his 23-man list to UEFA by 10:59pm on Wednesday ahead of matches versus Monaco, Nordsjaelland, Pafos, Borac, Trabzonspor and Thun between now and Christmas. New striker JJ Williams is in while Harry Milne, Stephen Kingsley and Zander Clark return to the fold. Finlay Pollock has been added amid his status as a homegrown player.
Summer signings Amadou Ba-Sy and Malachi Fagan-Walcott are notable omissions alongside Ageu. Craig Halkett and Tom Renaud miss out with injury and Clark’s return to fitness pushes Kieran Wright out the goalkeeping core. Elton Kabangu and Yan Dhanda are not in plans either.
What squad did Hearts need to submit to UEFA?
Vrancken faced tough choices on who would and wouldn’t make the cut as he holds a large squad. There were also UEFA rules to consider that state that four of the 25 players allowed have to come through the club's academy and that resulted in 23 being selected by the Belgian boss. Wilson and Pollock are the only players to fit the academy criteria so it means summer signings have missed out.
Renaud is no surprise after an ankle injury during the play-off success over Rapid Vienna but Ba-Sy is still adapting to Scottish football and Hearts under Vrancken. Fagan-Walcott has not returned to full training yet after injury and a careful approach is being taken with Ageu amid an injury-hit time at the club so far. Changes can be made to the team in the event of long-term injury and three swaps can be made if the club move out of the league phase.
There’s buoyancy in the air at Tynecastle after Thursday’s 3-1 win over Hibs in the Premiership and Dundee come next to Gorgie this Sunday. Vrancken said after claiming Edinburgh derby bragging rights: “We can improve. 100 %. I think we can improve in quality on the ball for sure and we have to try to push and to make those steps. It's ups and downs, human beings, so we'll be dropping one time, but that's not how we have to see it. We just have to work like this and it doesn't end here. It's just starting and we have to keep pushing to make improvements there and try to improve our game .And again, be ready on Sunday.
“I just think about the next game and the next game and the next game. But it's good. It gives confidence to the players when you have results. You need a result to give this extra push. I think they did it, and they kept this momentum, and they kept this push. And like I said, we can still improve there. We have a group who are also willing to improve now and not just resting because you have this run of games. I think we have players who still want to do these extra things.”
Hearts Conference League squad
Goalkeepers: Beau Reus, Ryan Fulton, Zander Clark
Defenders: Oisin McEntee, Harry Milne, Jordi Altena, Christian Borchgrevink, Stuart Findlay, Jamie McCart, Stephen Kingsley.
Midfielders: Blair Spittal, Laurent Mendy, Tomas Magnusson, Sabri Guendouz, Finlay Pollock.
Attackers: Claudio Braga, James Wilson, JJ Williams, Josh McPake, Calvin Miller, Sabah Kerjota, Rogers Mato, Landry Kabore.
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