Hearts have made an official move to bring Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes to Tynecastle as they step up the search for Neil Critchley’s successor.
The 53-year old has delivered success with St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock throughout his time as a head coach in Scottish football and a big part of that has been his signings. It’s fair to say the former Rangers midfielder has a preference for UK based players which brings up the question of what that means for the current oversees players at Tynecastle and the club’s current recruitment process involving Jamestown Analytics.
Here are the 116 signings that McInnes made for Aberdeen and Kilmarnock:
41. Niall McGinn
Hearts and rivals Hibs were reportedly very keen to land the former Celtic winger after his brief spell in South Korea came to an abrupt end but he opted for a return to Aberdeen just months after leaving and continued to be an important player for McInnes | SNS Group
42. Michael Devlin
The former Hearts youth player had impressed for Hamilton Accies to earn his move to Aberdeen but injuries would go on to severely hamper not just his time at Pittodrie but his entre career. He still managed three Scotland caps though and is now with Scott Brown's Ayr United | SNS Group
43. Sam Cosgrove
Another that foes down as one of McInnes' most successful signings. An unknown when the Dons paid £40k to Carlisle United, he wen't on to score 31 goals in 79 league games over two and a half seasons before Birmingham City paid over £2 million. | SNS Group
44. Greg Stewart
The attacker's Dundee form earned him a move to Birmingham City but he couldn't make an impact there and returned to Scotland on loan with the Dons. He scored 3 goals in 30 league appearances in what was a unremarkable spell compared to his previous standard north of the border | SNS Group