Callum Paterson is a player Hearts are actively looking to sign, but Robbie Neilson says they have other irons in the fire and aren’t going all in purely for their former player.
Paterson is out of contract at the end of the season and has found himself in and out of the team at Sheffield Wednesday. A return to Edinburgh is understood to appeal to the academy graduate, who initially left Tynecastle for Cardiff City five years ago under freedom of contract.
A January deal could be possible if the owls are prepared to get Paterson off the wage bill in order to free up space in the budget for new arrivals of their own. Jambos chief executive Andrew McKinlay explained that what sort of deal the club are able to do for Paterson will depend on whether Wednesday wasn't to hold on to him until the summer or not.
Neilson is keen to work with Paterson once again. But he’s also looking at moving players on in a bid to reduce the numbers in his squad with some of his injured charges now returning to fitness.
“He’s a player that we’re looking at at the moment, as we're looking at a number of players,” said the Hearts boss. “We don’t want to fully commit on one. We will add to the squad, but we’ll also move a few players on just to get the squad size down as well.”
Australian trio Kye Rowles, Cammy Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson are back from their World Cup adventure, Devlin with Lionel Messi’s shirt from his 1000th game safely in his luggage. He and Atkinson are in contention to feature against Kilmarnock on Saturday, but Rowles misses out following a red card in his last appearance before heading to Qatar.
After impressing for the Socceroos, the defender is likely to have caught the eye of bigger clubs. But Neilson insists the player is determined to develop and achieve with Hearts after only signing six months ago.
“We have aspirations to push up the league and get European football again, so we have to keep our best players here” he said. “I think Kye has only played ten games for us and it’s very, very early in his career. He understands that and wants to develop here.
“There’s no doubt over time that he will move up levels. We hope that he moves up levels with us, and then moves to an even higher level when he does move.
“They’re available ,they're here. Rowles is obviously suspended after the Livingston game, but the other two are here and available.”
Neilson’s squad is looking healthier after a raft of injuries before the break. But he's not quite back to full strength ahead of the meeting with Derek McInnes' men. He added: “Most of them are back but a couple are still out. Baningime and Boyce are still out, Haring's still suffering from his concussion at the moment.
“A couple of others will be borderline for tomorrow. But the majority are back in again and it's good to get them back. Humphrys is still struggling a wee bit with his ankle. His is one that’s dragged on more than we’d expected, but we just need to wait until he’s ready.”
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