Hearts set to welcome back attacker as new signing Ben Woodburn ready for debut

Hearts are expected to welcome back Armand Gnanduillet for Saturday’s match with Dundee United while new signing Ben Woodburn is in contention to make his debut.

Armand Gnaduillet has been missing from the last two squads for family reasons. Picture: SNS

The attacking midfielder joined from Liverpool in a season-long loan deal on Monday and is fit enough to go straight into the squad for the clash at Tannadice.

French striker Gnanduillet has been absent since the 2-1 win at St Mirren due to family reasons. The game comes too soon for left-back Stephen Kingsley.

Manager Robbie Neilson said: “Ben is ready for selection. The guys that we’ve got in there did really well last week so we’ll make a decision on whether he starts or not.

“I’m expecting Gnanduillet back in, which is great to have him in.

“Stephen won’t make it for the weekend, so he’ll be out, but other than that we should be fine.”

Neilson also stressed that work is being done behind the scenes to bring in a further three players to strengthen the squad before Tuesday’s deadline.

He said: “There are still a couple of areas we want to fill. We want to get another attacking player, we want to get another defender in and we’re looking to get a third-choice goalkeeper to come in and give us a bit of competition.

“So there is still a wee bit of work to do. A few of the younger ones will go out on loan in the next few days and the following week.

“We’ve been quite patient with our recruitment and I think that we’re seeing the fruits of that by the quality that we’re bringing in, and we’ll continue to do that.”

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