Calem Nieuwenhof primed for Hearts battles as he goes to dodging sharks down under to fulfilling 'dream' at Tynecastle

Calem Nieuwenhof reckons he’ll have no trouble negotiating the choppy waters of Scottish football after growing up swerving great white sharks.

The Hearts new boy spent his youth on the water but swapped the surf for turf as he made waves as a footballer in Australia. Nieuwenhof was thrown in at the deep end for his debut against Leeds on Sunday but managed to stay afloat and is confident he won’t sink in Scotland.

The former Western Sydney Wanderers star might have grown up not far from Bondi Beach but his dad’s Dutch DNA gave him a love for football. And a visit to Tynecastle as a kid in 2018 made such an impression that he was thrilled to make his return permanent – even if Gorgie is different world to what he’s used to.

Nieuwenhof said: “I was pretty typical growing up. I have lived in one or two suburbs my whole life in the northern beaches of Sydney. I used to be a big surfer. Surfing here? Yeah, it will be a bit colder so I think I’d better remember the wetsuit, for sure! Were there sharks? Yeah, they might have prepared me a little bit for coming over here and playing in front of these fans!

“There were so many different sports. Growing up I played football, surfed a fair bit. I mean my family is a pretty big surfing family. I played cricket, did Nippers (a club for young surf lifesavers) and a bit of touch football, a bit of everything. In Australia my dad played football so growing up there were never really any other options for me.

“As soon as I was old enough to walk, I was kicking a ball around and as soon as I could I got into the local club team and I fell in love with the game. I just grew up playing football and now I’m lucky enough to come and play in the European leagues. That is every young player’s