Why Hearts gave Kenneth Vargas a five-year contract

Strip away the fanfare, egg emojis and euphoria surrounding Kenneth Vargas' permanent move to Hearts and you find a rather astute business deal. Tynecastle officials worked carefully and diligently for more than a year to reach this point, and are entitled to feel excited about what their latest signing could ultimately deliver.

Few footballers are offered five-year contracts in the modern era when players can change clubs every few months. Hearts tying Vargas up for the next half-decade underlines the forward's current value but also his future potential. He touched down in Edinburgh last summer on an initial season-long loan which has now been converted into a permanent move, effective from July.

The loan was deliberate to allow a 21-year-old who had never played outwith his native Costa Rica time to adapt to Europe, Scottish football and British culture. Included in the agreement was a purchase option for a six-figure sum. If Vargas failed to acclimatise or show the required sporting levels, Hearts' risk was low. They would simply let the loan expire and return him to sender.

That scenario never really looked likely. Vargas has gradually grown in stature during eight months at Tynecastle, become a full internationalist and endeared himself to supporters with pace, goals and assists. He has found the net seven times in 34 appearances in maroon this season. It would have been negligent on both a business and footballing level for Hearts to forego the opportunity to sign him permanently.

"First of all, the way this deal has been structured has been really good for everybody involved," explained Steven Naismith, the Hearts head coach. "Our thought process was that Kenneth would come in and develop. He didn't need to pull trees up right away for us to think about signing him. It was his first time out of Costa Rica, he is 21, and the league he came from is totally different to ours.

"It was more about giving us that year to get a feel for him as a person, the way he is as a character, how he trains. Very quickly, we saw he had big potential. He was probably overused earlier in the season because people were injured, but he did a lot of hard work which people maybe didn't appreciate. Away from matchdays, you can see he has a real drive to be as good as he can. He understands he has a bit of talent but he understands the opportunity he's got. That was all very clear early on.

"His natural attributes are really good. He uses his body well, he is willing to put in a tackle, he works really hard, he has great pace and is a threat going forward. The biggest area is having that calmness in the final third - but he is 21 years old. Over the course of the next five years, I'm really confident we will see that calmness in attack progress each year. When that becomes more consistent, he is a top talent.

"He already has three caps for Costa Rica. All the signs are there that he will have opportunities to be an international regular. His performances back that up and I'm confident he will do so. That's why we went down this route with him. In terms of the five-year contract, we rate him highly. This gives him the time now to just focus on football for the next two to three years, develop, become more consistent and ultimately grow into being an international footballer. We think he will be a big asset at that point."

The nickname "Huevito" followed Vargas to Scotland from Central America. It translates into English as "Little Egg" and stems from the player's father, Kenneth Snr. He was known during his player career as "Huevo", meaning "Egg", and Hearts fans have happily adopted the moniker for Kenneth Jnr. The club's social media channels used egg images to hint at the Vargas announcement minutes before Tuesday's confirmation of a permanent deal.

The light-hearted prelude was perfectly understandable. Hearts officials had done all the serious negotiating and business talk. A five-year contract gives the player security whilst the club continue benefiting from his talents. Crucially, it also protects Hearts' interests. Similar to Kye Rowles when he signed a five-year deal in January 2023, Vargas is under the age of 25 and already a regular in his national squad. His best years are ahead of him and he harbours clear potential to develop. Hearts see him as a major asset who might eventually bring a seven-figure return on their six-figure investment if progress continues.

"From the business point of view, that's exactly it," said Naismith. "We expect that, halfway through his contract, we've got an established international player with a good length of time still on his contract. So we are then in control of that situation. We understand Kenneth's drive and desire. Like any player, he will want to play as high as he can. This gives everybody a bit more control over it, and in the short-term it gives Kenneth a bit more security with a longer contract. He understands he is going to be here for a period of time so he can settle, develop and just enjoy his football."

Vargas will doubtless improve as he goes from early to mid-20s and Hearts fans are already intrigued by his future promise. Things could get very interesting in Gorgie when the Little Egg comes to the boil.

Why Hearts gave Kenneth Vargas a five-year deal