Hearts teen Finlay Pollock joins East Fife on loan

Paperwork was finalised today as the 17-year-old made the switch to League One prior to Scotland’s loan window closing. He will link up with his new East Fife team-mates later this week.

The Evening News revealed last Wednesday that the Bayview manager Stevie Crawford was eager to sign Pollock on loan to help his club’s relegation fight.

East Fife are bottom of League One and seven points adrift of second-bottom Dumbarton with just nine league games remaining. In that respect, young Pollock will find himself walking into an intense situation.

Hearts coaching staff want him to get valuable game time between now and summer, and will then properly assess his progress when he reports back to Riccarton for pre-season training in June.

He helped the Edinburgh club’s under-18 side reach the Scottish Youth Cup final by beating Inverness last Thursday. Now he is tasked with stepping up to first-team level in the third tier.

Pollock is a graduate of the Riccarton youth academy who made his senior debut at the age of 16 in April last year. That match against Inverness allowed him to showcase his repertoire of attacking midfield attributes.

He then signed his first professional contract last summer after Hearts gained promotion from the Championship to the Premiership. His first senior goal came against Stirling Albion in the Premier Sports Cup last July.

Since then, injuries have restricted his progress and he will now aim to build momentum during this loan period.