The inside track on new Hearts recruit MJ Kamson-Kamara as ace with big potential proves an ultras favourite

New Hearts signing MJ Kamson Kamara arrives at Hearts with bags of potential, according to his former club Glentoran.

The defender spent the 25/26 season at The Oval in Northern Ireland on loan from English Championship-bound Lincoln City. Hearts are paying the Imps, who offered their young talent a new deal with his most recent terms expiring, a six-figure compensation fee to bring him to Gorgie on a contract until 2030 as summer recruitment continues.

Kamson-Kamara played 31 times for the NIFL Premiership side, including BetMcLean Cup final experience. He conceded a controversial penalty in extra time as rivals Linfield lifted the trophy but that hasn’t diminished how Glentoran feel about him. The club’s ultras group were fond of the defender, according to chairman Colin Jess, as were the rest of the club. Known as ‘MJ’, Jess insists there’s still a raw element to his game, but he remains a rough diamond awaiting polish on the bigger platform Hearts will provide.

What is MJ Kamson-Kamara like as a player?

“He's a player that we loved and the supporters loved him,” Jess told the Evening News. “He was a cult hero to a certain degree. A young fellow playing at the back. Good on the ball. Made vital tackles at the right time. The only thing he had in him was the odd mistake, let's say, but we put that down to a young guy and he will have learned from that. We certainly as a club wish him all the very best in what he's doing and where he's going to. Our football director has contacts with agents all over the country.

“He's getting sent videos of guys. A lot of times we just ignore it and delete it. We were looking for somebody young to come in at the back. It was a great opportunity whenever we were contacted by the agent to have a look at this guy. We looked at him and thought he could do a job for us. He certainly did. We were glad that he spent his year at Glentoran. MJ must have played nearly every game last year apart from those he was suspended in. He kept himself fit. He was a cult hero with a section of the Ultras.

“They loved him. He just was that guy that gave 100% every time he played. Went over the edge a couple of times. The last two minutes of extra time in a cup final against your arch rivals. To be honest, nobody really blamed him for it, there was a referee who got to blame for a lot. He gave the referee a decision to make, I suppose. That's just because he's young. He will improve with more maturity.”

Moving from the EFL to Northern Ireland is not a traditional path but it was one Kamson-Kamara relished. It opened his eyes to the demands of winning constantly that Glentoran place upon their players, which will prove useful in Gorgie, as expectations rise after unlocking Champions League qualifiers with a second place Premiership finish earlier this month. Hearts interest came as a shock and now Jess hopes game time comes with it for the former Glentoran star.

”Glentoran is, in terms of Irish league football, we call ourselves one of the big two,” Jess explained. “We just haven't been as successful in this past few years but we have had a bit of investment back in 2019. We have attracted the best players that are around. We just haven't transferred that into winning the league or trophies but we didn't raise our eyes whenever he came. We just thought he was coming to a club with a long-standing tradition of winning things in Northern Ireland.

Why did Glentoran enjoy having MJ Kamson-Kamara on loan?

“He obviously wanted to try himself out in that environment. So we weren't really surprised. It was just the tradition at Glentoran Football Club asserts that we do attract and have been attracting the best players, both in local leagues, and also from the Republic of Ireland. We bring the odd one across. I wouldn't have been surprised to say, ‘oh God, there's somebody coming from England to Glentoran.’ It turned out to be a natural path.

“I suppose whenever we heard where he was going, we couldn't believe it. Coming from here, for Hearts to have seen him and to have put their faith into him to bring him on board, the overwhelming attitude from players, from the supporters, officials and his fellow players was fair play. If you've got that opportunity then go and take it. We saw him mature as a player over the year. We saw his ability. It's actually good that a large club has come in. My only question would be is he going to get game time?”

It could be a baptism of fire for Kamson-Kamara with experienced defender Craig Halkett out long-term with an Achilles problem and Frankie Kent’s release. Hearts’ first competitive game will come in Europe’s biggest club tournament during qualification clashes with Fenerbahce of Turkey or Sturm Graz from Austria in July. His big-game experience and mentality was experienced first-hand by the Glens chairman, who hopes the defender rises to the challenge at Hearts, even if an arena like Champions League qualifying would prove a huge jump.

“He played well in the big matches that we played over here, added Jess. “He’s maybe a bit raw at this stage for that sort of level but I certainly wouldn't stand in his way or run him down because he has huge potential. I sat beside him on the bus on the way to the cup final and he was very much into getting the headphones on, and I just knew not to be talking to him, just let him sit there with the headphones on. He was a quiet big fella, but when he got on the pitch, our supporters really loved him.

“He embraced it here. We didn't get the feeling that I'm too good for this league. It was a feeling that he was coming here, probably in the back of his mind, to use this as a stepping stone to show what he can do on a regular basis. He probably wouldn't have got that football on a regular basis on Lincoln. He definitely did here and the fact that Hearts have come in for him was pretty evident of that too.”