Everton have confirmed that Ellis Simms has completed a loan move to Heart of Midlothian and will spend the remainder of 2021/22 campaign with the Scottish Premiership club.
The forward has found himself around the Blues first team on multiple occasions this season after impressing on loan at Blackpool last season.
Simms spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan with the Seasiders, where he scored 10 goals in 24 appearances to help Neil Critchley's side to promotion to the Championship from League One.
The 21-year-old, who signed a new deal with the club back in November, was then handed his Premier League debut by Rafa Benitez in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last month.
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The forward, who joined the Blues aged 16 having previously spent time at Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, had previously impressed at under-18 and under-23 level for the Blues.
And speaking on the move, Simms wrote on Twitter: "Happy to sign for @JamTart for the rest of the season. Looking forward to getting started."
While Hearts Robbie Neilson said on Simms' arrival: “I’m really happy to get a player of Ellis’ quality on board.
“We’ve made no secret of looking for a striker and in Ellis we’ve found what we’ve been looking for. He’s got a great pedigree and all the attributes to be a success up here, so I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Before Hearts Sporting Director Joe Savage added on the deal: “It’s always been about quality over quantity for us and we’ve got real quality in Ellis.
“He’s someone we’ve been tracking for a long time and although it looked like he may have gone to the English Championship we’ve managed to attract him up here, which speaks volumes about this club.
“Our thanks go to Everton for their assistance with the move and I am, like I’m sure our fans will be, really excited to watch Ellis play for Hearts.”
