Hearts new boy Ryo Meshino hopes to follow in Shunsuke Nakamura’s famous footsteps by becoming the next Japanese star to light up Scottish football.
The 21-year-old finally sealed his season-long loan switch from Manchester City yesterday after a two-week red-tape delay.
Despite only landing in Edinburgh following a 20-hour journey from Osaka, Hearts boss Craig Levein hopes clearance will arrive in time to hand Meshino his debut against Hamilton.
Meshino only joined City earlier this month in a seven-figure transfer from Gamba Osaka and the attacking midfielder is dreaming of leaving a lasting impression in the Scottish top flight just like his compatriot.
Nakamura became a cult hero during four years at Celtic and Meshino said: “He is a great player in Japan – his achievements in Scotland were fantastic. A lot of people in Scotland talk about Nakamura so I want to be a player the supporters love, like Celtic supporters do with Nakamura.
“When I was a child I didn’t watch much football but when I decided I was coming to Hearts I watched videos of Nakamura so I could learn a bit about Scottish football.
“I was here for the Ross County game two weeks ago and I can help make a difference. The supporters at Hearts are very hardcore and are passionate. I just want to play.”
Stopper John Souttar misses out again today after seeing a specialist about his ankle injury earlier this week.
And boss Levein said: “The specialist gave him an injection, so he’s in a moon boot for five days. It’s disappointing – I was hoping to have him back for this weekend but this will put him back a couple of weeks.”
