Steven Naismith returns to Hearts on season-long loan from Norwich
Friday 6 July 2018 13:16, UK
Former Scotland striker Steven Naismith has returned to Hearts on a season-long loan from Norwich City.
Naismith, 31, has already trained with his team-mates and, pending international clearance, could be involved in this Sunday's friendly match against Partick Thistle at Central Park.
Speaking to the club's website, Hearts manager Craig Levein said: "I'm thrilled. It's not just the fact that he's a really good player, he's got a great work ethic and he's got great talent as well.
"He's a very, very useful addition and he did well for us last season.
"I had a chat with him at the end of the season and he felt that he had a bit of an interrupted preparation for the season and things didn't go great at the beginning with Norwich, so he didn't really start playing competitively until he came to us in January.
"I think he was getting better towards the end of the season.
"I feel that we've got a bit of time yet in this pre-season to get him up to speed."
The 31-year-old spent the second half of the last campaign on loan at Tynecastle, scoring four goals in 16 appearances, which helped Hearts to a sixth-place finish in the Scottish Premier League.
