Joe Savage addresses Hearts' youth policy as teenager Bobby McLuckie signs a new long-term contract

The youngster has impressed with Hearts B team this season.

Hearts sporting director Joe Savage stressed that youth development remains one of the club’s core priorities after handing teenage winger Bobby McLuckie a new long-term contract.

The 16-year-old is still in his first season as a professional but impressed sufficiently with the Hearts B team to earn a three-year deal. Savage indicated that more Riccarton academy graduates would follow and stated the importance of home-grown players to the Edinburgh club.

“It’s very good news that Bobby has committed his future to the club,” Savage told the official Hearts website. “He’s had a really impressive debut season in senior football with the B Team and we were very keen for him to stay and continue his development with us.

“Promoting youth is one of our key targets at the club and Bobby is still a very young player, so to see the progress he and his teammates have made with the B Team is exciting. We have a lot of talented players coming through our Academy system and we’ll be agreeing new deals with some in the near future, so watch this space.”

McLuckie, a Scotland Under-17 internationalist, is due to represent his country at the European Under-17 Championship in Hungary this summer. He has already been on the bench for Hearts’ first team and recently won the club’s B team Rising Star award for his performances.

He said he is hungry for more progress in years to come. “It’s great to sign with Hearts for another three years,” he said. “It’s been such a busy season and I didn’t expect it at all. The opportunities have come and I always felt I had to take them.

“I want to keep getting on the bench, keep impressing the manager in training and then hopefully getting an opportunity to show what I can do on the pitch. I’ve experienced so much since I first joined the club, and I want to experience everything to come.”

Hearts sporting director Joe Savage says youth development is still a key priority at the club.

With B team coach Steven Naismith recently stepping up to the role of interim first-team manager at Hearts, there is a chance of some younger players earning a senior breakthrough before the campaign ends.