New Hearts signing jets into Edinburgh to finalise his transfer
Gerald Taylor has arrived after a loan deal was agreed with Deportivo Saprissa
The Costa Rican international defender Gerald Taylor has arrived in Edinburgh to finalise his move to Hearts. Documents are now being worked on to complete an initial loan deal and ensure the player’s UK visa is in place before the transfer is officially announced.
Hearts have agreed a season-long loan with Taylor’s club, Deportivo Saprissa, which includes an option to make the agreement permanent next year for a six-figure fee. The 23-year-old landed in the Capital less than a week after Costa Rica were eliminated from the Copa America in order to speed up the immigration process and begin his career at Tynecastle Park.
The Scottish Football Association have already approved the move with a Governing Body Endorsement, a Home Office requirement for the visa. Barring any unexpected issues arising, Taylor should be a Hearts player in the next few days.
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The club identified him as an emerging internationalist with potential, similar to his Costa Rica colleague Kenneth Vargas. The loan deal allows all parties time to adjust to one another and provides room to manoeuvre if a permanent deal is not wanted further down the line.
Taylor is expected to secure the right-back position at Hearts after sterling displays in his homeland. He is an established member of Costa Rica’s squad and has earned a reputation for reliable defending and intelligent attacking. He sees Europe as the next step in his career and, after an encouraging first season for Vargas in Scotland, is keen to sample life at Hearts.
He will become the Tynecastle club’s seventh summer signing after goalkeeper Ryan Fulton, defenders Daniel Oyegoke and James Penrice, midfielders Yan Dhanda and Blair Spittal, plus striker Musa Drammeh.