How Hearts fought off Manchester United, Aston Villa and other English clubs while signing 17 talented youngsters

Pathway from Riccarton to the first team is laid out.

There may well be indents on office tables and a shortage of ink at Riccarton just now. Couriers arriving with fresh supplies of A4 paper and biros is virtually guaranteed. Hearts’ training base has been a hive of activity for several weeks with player after player scrawling signatures new contracts.

Sporting director Joe Savage and youth academy figurehead Frankie McAvoy worked on 18 different deals since January, culminating in a flurry of recent signings. Triggering Peter Haring’s 12-month extension was the most high-profile, but some of the other 17 could prove equally important in the fullness of time.

Hearts have extended contracts of a raft of academy graduates who harbour ambitions of reaching first-team level. Not all of them will succeed, such is the cut-throat competitive nature of senior football. Some were signed for next year’s B team, others will flit between that level and the first team.

The 17 are Ryan Duncan, Harry Stone, Makenzie Kirk, Callum Flatman, Bailey Dall, Murray Thomas, Harry Gordon, Gus Stevenson, Luke Rathie, Aidan Denholm, Liam McFarlane, Ethan Drysdale, Adam Forrester, Calum Sandilands, James Wilson, Macaulay Tait and Bobby McLuckie.

Hearts are keen to demonstrate that the pathway from Riccarton’s youth pitches to Tynecastle Park is unobscured. The club have been criticised for not producing enough first-team regulars in recent seasons despite investing a considerable six-figure sum in their academy every year. It is a narrative those at the coal face are eager to change.

“There has been a lot of hard work in terms of trying to get these young players signed,” explained McAvoy, speaking exclusively to the Evening News. “A lot of our young players have kicked on really well. There was a lot of interest in Gus Stevenson, Luke Rathie has signed as well, plus Aidan Denholm. We have a lot of good young players. You see Macaulay Tait and Bobby McLuckie up there with the first team. So many of them have penned new deals recently and it’s great.

“The good thing is that they see a pathway. The pathway has always been there for us to try and get them into the first team. Once they get themselves into that training environment with the senior lads, then they need to embrace it and do their utmost to get themselves into the manager’s thoughts. I’m delighted with all of it.”

Hearts want to see more players progress from their academy to the first team at Tynecastle Park.

There is particular satisfaction at retaining the services of Wilson, the prodigious 16-year-old striker. English clubs scouted a number of Hearts youth players over the last 12 months but none captured the same level of attention as Wilson. He headed south to visit Manchester United and Aston Villa’s facilities early this year, and also held talks with Leeds United.

For now, the riches, flashlights and glamour of England’s Premier League can wait. Wilson signed a two-year Hearts contract with the option of a further year just a few weeks ago after being persuaded that his immediate future lay in Edinburgh. A number of different people are responsible for keeping the Scotland Under-16 captain at the club where he has played football since the age of nine.

Former manager Robbie Neilson is just one of them. “Robbie did a lot of work with young James because there was a lot of interest in him,” confirmed McAvoy. “Naisy [Steven Naismith] has worked with him in the B team and managed to get him involved in that. To tie him down is a massive coup for Hearts given the amount of interested he generated.”

Which begs the question: How exactly do you convince a teenage footballer to choose Tynecastle over Old Trafford, Villa Park and Elland Road? “The biggest thing is always to be honest with them and we have always done that,” explained McAvoy. “James has been away and spoke to quite a lot of clubs. I think it’s about knowing what you have. We have a fantastic facility here at Oriam. I know it’s been knocked a few times recently but it is a good facility, let’s not be kidded.

“For me, Hearts are a massive club. Outwith the big two in Glasgow, Hearts are probably the third-biggest club in Scotland in my opinion. Why not be at Hearts? Look at the support, the stadium, playing in front of a full house at Tynecastle. For me, there is nothing better. If these boys get that opportunity then it’s one they have to embrace. I think it’s one a lot of them look forward to.”

Promoting the club’s identity is another tool frequently employed. Supporters long to see youth academy graduates breaking into the senior side but those have been in short supply for some time. The class of Callum Paterson, Sam Nicholson and Jamie Walker seems a long time ago. There is hope that the next generation is gradually emerging, hence those new contracts.

“One of the good things is that quite a few of these young boys have been here for a long time, so there is a wee bit of Hearts DNA in them,” McAvoy pointed out. “A lot of their parents have come along to support Hearts, too. Once you have that in place, it goes a long way. I’m delighted to keep these lads.

“I think a lot of the young kids we have managed to sign, the relationship has just worked. Them and Hearts have worked and that’s why there is so much interest in them. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Hopefully some of them will get a turn to grace Tynecastle in the future, but it will be up to them.”