Joe Savage has agreed terms to become Hearts ’ new sporting director.
The 36-year-old’s departure from Preston North End was confirmed on Friday and a deal for him to head to Tynecastle has now been struck.
Robbie Neilson revealed yesterday that he was keen to get someone in to take on the role, either before the January transfer window and definitely before business started to be done in the summer.
But Savage is now expected to start his new job shortly after the New Year.
Savage has worked closely with former Hamilton boss Alex Neill, firstly in a scouting role at the Lanarkshire club before moving with Neill to Norwich to work as The Canaries’ chief scout.
The pair reunited at Preston three years ago, with Savage becoming head of recruitment back in 2017.
His work in Lancashire had him linked with move to English Premiership club Southampton last year at the same time he was being mentioned as a potential successor to Craig Levein in Gorgie.
He’ll have dealt with Neilson and Hearts transfer advisor Jim Jefferies recently, working on the loan deal that took Preston winger Josh Ginnelly to Tynecastle on loan last summer.
The explosive wide man has impressed since arriving, despite missing a few weeks through injury. He made a goalscoring return to action yesterday however, coming off the bench to smash in the Jambos’ final goal in their 6-1 Championship thrashing of Queen of the South.
“It’s such an important role," said Neilson. "I’ve worked with them, I’ve worked without them and I always found that you need them, especially at a club this size.
“We’ve got the academy, we’ve got the womens’ team, we’ve got a school that brings players though, we’ve got soccer schools everywhere. Under 10s to Under 18s, we’ve got a reserve team.
“It’s too much for a manager to oversee.
“My focus is the first team and making sure they win on a Saturday so we need someone else that’s going to come in and oversee the rest of them.”
