Hearts head into a new era, with Steven Naismith being appointed as their new full-time manager until 2025, although he won’t be allowed to use that title just yet.
The Scot doesn’t have the required Pro Licence qualification to be able to manage in European competition, therefore Frankie McAvoy will have the title of head coach, with Naismith acting as the technical director, for now at least.
The former Scotland international will still be going about his business as usual, and he will be determined to build a squad which can secure a better finish than the fourth place they ended up last term, while qualifying for the Europa Conference League group stages for the second year in a row.
To do this, the 36-year-old will have to add some quality to his first team, and recently released Scott Arfield could be the ideal person to give the squad a boost according to former Hearts' winger Neil McCann.
He told BBC Sportscene (via Football Scotland): "I love Scott [Arfield]. I think he has been a magnificent servant coming up from Burnley. He wasn't at the starting point of his career. People might have said he was on the way down but I think he has performed brilliantly.
"He would be another super signing for someone like Hearts or Aberdeen maybe.”
Could Hearts sign Scott Arfield?
The 34-year-old admitted that he plans on playing until he is 40 and considering he made 43 appearances for the Rangers last term, registering ten goal contributions – nine goals and one assist – it certainly suggests he has plenty more to offer.
Indeed, with his relentless work rate and ability to score the occasional goal, the £10k-per-week midfielder could be perfect slotting in behind Lawrence Shankland during the 2023/24 campaign.
Arfield created two big chances and made 0.5 key passes per game for the Ibrox side last term, yet he averaged just 34 minutes a game, starting only seven league matches and there is no doubt these numbers would have been better had he played more.
Shankland was Hearts' top scorer with 24 goals, while also ranking first in the squad for overall Sofascore rating (7.11/10), shots on target per game (1.4) and scoring frequency (a goal every 127 minutes), pushing the club into the European places with his impressive strike rate.
Journalist Jordan Campbell lavished praise on the Canadian following his cameo against Hearts last November, saying: “Scott Arfield has added a lot of personality to the team since coming on. Cajoling teammates, pressing with intensity, trying to link things.”
If he could bring these qualities to the Jambos next season, he and Shankland would link up well.
Indeed, Arfield would be at ease doing the legwork while giving the 27-year-old plenty of ammunition to repeat his goal-scoring antics from recent years.
As such, the 5 foot 10 gem could be a shrewd piece of business for the new boss. Naismith, it’s over to you.