Hearts reveal plans for Yan Dhanda and Blair Spittal

New signings will slot into midfield and show their best attributes

Periods of last season saw Hearts criticised for struggling to open up tightly-packed opposition defences. Frustration grew among supporters who felt their team were too often passive and lacking creativity in the final third. A solution to that issue was a priority for management, hence the pre-contract signings of Yan Dhanda from Ross County and Blair Spittal from Motherwell.

Hearts finished comfortably third in the Premiership and secured European league-stage football for season 2024/25 in what was overall a successful campaign. However, head coach Steven Naismith and his staff are determined never to rest on laurels. More attacking flair and incision was sought, with Dhanda and Spittal recruited specifically to help provide it. Barrie McKay’s return from injury should add further spark.

Naismith now has a plethora of choices in the attacking department. Dhanda and Spittal join McKay, Yutaro Oda, Alan Forrest, Kenneth Vargas, Lawrence Shankland, Liam Boyce, Musa Drammeh and Kyosuke Tagawa as offensive options for Hearts. All of the above will be used in various roles at different times with the aim of increasing the team’s intensity.

Dhanda claimed six goals and eight assists last season as Ross County successfully fought relegation from the Premiership. The previous year, his first in Scottish football following a move north from Swansea City, yielded six goals and 10 assists. The 25-year-old arrives in Edinburgh hoping to improve on those statistics in a team challenging at the opposite end of the league.

Spittal scored 13 times and claimed 11 assists for Motherwell last year. He reached six goals and seven assists the season before. At 28, he offers good experience of Scottish football after spells with Queen’s Park, Dundee United, Partick Thistle and Ross County prior to Motherwell. Crucially, he looks like a player reaching his peak if the last 12 months are an accurate yardstick.

Naismith is quite clear on his plans for both Dhanda and Spittal. “The two of them are similar in that probably one of their biggest strengths is their flexibility,” he explained to the Edinburgh News. “Blair, being a wee bit older, can play slightly deeper if need be. Both of them, with their intelligence, can play in any of the wider areas, off the top of a striker, or in a flat midfield three. That's the biggest thing they bring - that versatility.

"They are different players and I also think they are different to the other attacking players we have. The clear message you can see from them is that they are intelligent footballers. They see runs, they see passes, they understand when the game needs to be played quicker and when it's time to keep the ball. That allows them to be versatile players. That's how I see them. I don't necessarily see them as, 'oh, he's just a No.10,' or 'he's a wide player.' We need to decide in each game where they are going to impact things best.”

With six summer signings complete, Hearts are in a strong position for the new campaign. Goalkeeper Ryan Fulton, defenders James Penrice and Daniel Oyegoke, and striker Musa Drammeh join Dhanda and Spittal as new recruits already in the door at Riccarton. Gerald Taylor is poised to follow once he finishes international duty with Costa Rica at the Copa America.

Naismith is confident he has assembled a strong squad. “I probably categorise the players as defenders, midfielders, and then the general attack,” he said. “The options we have mean that, no matter what system we play, we have a variety of profiles in our playing squad. That is really healthy. There are not many in the squad who we are looking at and going: 'Probably a bit weaker.' Individuals all have their own different type of profile. With the amount of games and injuries, we have a good balance. We can be assured we will have options in every game.”