Scotland striker Tony Watt joins Hearts on season-long loan

Tony Watt is looking forward to playing at Tynecastle for the first time

Watt underwent a medical in the Capital this morning after Hearts and his parent club, Charlton Athletic, agreed on a loan deal. He will not be eligible to play against Birkirkara in tomorrow’s Europa League qualifier but will be registered for the next round should Hearts progress.

The 22-year-old former Celtic striker is returning to Scotland hoping to improve his international prospects. Spells at Standard Liege and Charlton have been indifferent, and he remains best known for scoring Celtic’s Champions League winner against Barcelona in 2013.

Watt made his Scotland debut in March this year and is eager to stay on the radar of national coach Gordon Strachan.

Hearts believe the forward will boost their attacking options. Head coach Robbie Neilson already has Juanma Delgado and Conor Sammon competing, but Watt’s pace and eye for goal will be an added bonus.

Signing on a season-long loan gives the player a chance to rejuvenate his career and compete for domestic honours at Tynecastle.

The player told Hearts TV: “I’m still young and I’ve got a large chunk of my career ahead of me, so I want to come back up here and play games.

“This is a big club and I want to come back to Scotland and get a bit of stability. I had a stop-start season last year for a variety of reasons, both in terms of injury and being out on loan at a few clubs.

“I’m not far away in terms of fitness, I’m ready to go and just need game time really.

“So I’m looking forward to getting started. I’ve never played at Tynecastle before, I’ve been on the bench here once but that’s it.

“I’m looking forward to playing here and hopefully the fans will be cheering my name.”