Robbie Neilson has hinted that Hearts are closing in on deals as he looks to strengthen his squad.
Neilson is prioritising wide men in his recruitment drive and a central midfielder as he plots his assault on the Championship title.
As exclusively revealed by Record Sport , former Motherwell winger Elliott Frear has been training with the capital club, who are also interested in ex- Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ipswich man Jordan Roberts.
There is also interest in left back Stephen Kingsley, but it’s understood a deal for the ex-Hull City player remains unlikely given the competition the Jambos face from down south.
But the Gorgie gaffer suggested that one or two are edging closer to being done after talks continued over recent days.
“We’ve said all along we need to recruit in the right areas and there’s a couple that we’re interested in doing,” he said.
“We’ve not got them over the line yet but they’re in the process, but it’s like anything. We’ve got plenty of time before we start the games, we just need to make sure we get the right ones in.”
Neilson’s charges returned to full contact training at Oriam today after being limited to groups of eight last week due to coronavirus restrictions.
While he is glad to get back to some form of morality this week, Neilson admitted he had enjoyed working more closely with his charges with less of them in and any one time, as it meant there was no hiding place for anyone as the hard work started in earnest.
And it might be something he sticks with longer term, regardless of whether it’s a COVID-19 requirement or not.
“Actually, I’ve quite enjoyed doing it in the small groups,” he told Hearts TV. “It gives you a chance to see them more, to speak to them more in depth.
“Generally, they come back as a group of 25 to 30 and for want of a better term, some of them can hide at times and you don’t really get to see them.
“So that’s been good and something I might take forward into the future.”
Neilson was also impressed with how the club’s younger players have shown up on their return to training.
The likes of Harry Cochrane, Jamie Brandon and Anthony MacDonald have been putting in the work on their own over the summer.
And after Neilson said previously that the kids can lay down a marker in terms of their fitness form day one, it seems a number have taken that on board and have come back flying.
He added: “There’s some real quality here and the young ones have done very well. I’m impressed with them and they’ve come back in good condition.
“It’s pretty basic training just now because we’re socially distanced in small groups, but we’ll get more of a feel for them once we go into 11v11 games and bigger possession drills.
“You get a real eye for what type of player they are.”
