Scott Fraser completes a move to Hearts after Charlton Athletic sign off his loan deal

The midfielder's switch from London to Edinburgh has finally gone through

Scott Fraser has completed a loan move to Hearts from Charlton Athletic until the end of the season. The 28-year-old midfielder could now make his debut in Saturday's Premiership match with Dundee at Dens Park.

A loan agreement between Hearts and Charlton was due to be finalised last week before the English League One club sacked manager Michael Appleton. That caused a delay as they waited to sign off the paperwork, but that has now been processed.

Fraser held talks with senior officials at The Valley to state his desire to return to Scotland. He came through Dundee United's youth system and had a loan spell at Airdrie before moving to England in 2018. He has since played for Burton Albion, MK Dons, Ipswich Town and Charlton.

The player made 22 appearances for the London club during the first half of the season and is now ready to help Hearts in their quest to secure third place in the Scottish Premiership. They are also keen to lift the Scottish Cup for the first time since 2012.

The Tynecastle head coach Steven Naismith has admired Fraser's ability and attacking instinct for some time. Naismith was interested last summer and, after adding the player to his squad, is expected to give him plenty game time between now and the end of the season.

Fraser is Hearts' second January recruit after the loan capture of Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dexter Lembikisa.

"I’m pleased that we’ve been able to get the deal done and welcome Scott into the squad," Naismith told his club's website. "He’s a great character, has got bags of experience and knows Scottish football well, so he should settle in quickly.

"He’ll bring an aggressiveness to our attack in that he always wants to get forward. He’s consistently scored goals and provided lots of assists, both in Scotland and England, and the hope is that he’ll be able to do the same for Hearts as we look to continue our good run of form."

Joe Savage, the Hearts sporting director, explained the importance of the club backing Naismith. "It’s obviously no secret that we’ve been trying to bring Scott in for a while and sometimes these things take time, but we’re delighted to get it done and I have to give a big thanks to Will Thornton and Omni Sports for all of their help," said Savage.

"Scott’s had to be patient but now he can be fully involved with the first team and get the chance to show our fans what he is capable of on the pitch. I’m also really pleased that we’ve been able to support the manager in identifying the positions we need to strengthen and then being able to deliver his targets.

"We’re in a good place and everyone is looking forward to continuing the positivity into the latter part of the season."