Hearts take a decision on Callum Paterson with Stephen Humphrys deal difficult

Hearts are prepared to wait until the final days of the transfer window for a resolution in the chase for Sheffield Wednesday's Callum Paterson.

After submitting two official offers for the 28-year-old, who is out of contract at Hillsborough this summer, Tynecastle officials have decided the ball is now in Wednesday’s court. If they want to recoup any kind of fee for Paterson, a sale this month is their best option.

Hearts are keen to bring the player back to his formative club but so far Wednesday have not accepted any bids. Manager Darren Moore addressed the issue last week, saying: “He’s with us, he’s in the building and he’s staying put. I don’t see any reason or anything outside of that to talk about. If I did feel there was anything to discuss or allude to, I would do, but there isn’t.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson told the Evening News that the next move is down to Wednesday. “We are waiting for them now. We would like to bring him in but it's down to them,” said Neilson, who has already secured defender James Hill and striker Garang Kuol on loan from English clubs this month. Japanese forward Yutaro Oda also arrived in a permanent transfer from Vissel Kobe.

Another player Hearts would consider signing permanently is Stephen Humphrys, currently on loan in Edinburgh from Wigan Athletic. His vast salary at the DW Stadium would make a straight transfer difficult and it remains to be seen whether he will see out his contract there. It runs until June 2024.

Humphrys has proved popular with Hearts fans and Neilson backed him despite a late miss in Friday’s 1-0 win against St Mirren. “He should score, he knows that,” said the manager. “He tries to be too cute and slide it in the corner. At the end of the day, it’s part of football. People miss chances. The big man has been sensational for us since he came in. The boys will miss chances and make mistakes at times, that’s life.

“The result is the most important thing and that chance didn’t influence the outcome of the game. It would have been nice to score it and make the last few minutes a bit easier. At the end of the day, we still saw it out and got a good three points.”