Kenneth Vargas seals Hearts transfer as Costa Rican striker joins on season-long loan deal

Kenneth Vargas is a Hearts player at last as the Jambos have announced him on a one-year loan deal, with an option to buy.

Steven Naismith and Frankie McAvoy had been looking for a new striker with Vargas identified as their main man. It's taken its time with technical director Naismith admitting his frustration at the red tape that held the deal up but Vargas has finally secured the necessary paperwork.

And the 21-year-old arrives at Tynecastle hoping to make an instant impact. The news comes after Lawrence Shankland and Yutaro Oda hit the back of the net against St Johnstone while fellow striker Kyosuke Tagawa made his debut off the bench. Frankie McAvoy told the club's website: Head Coach Frankie McAvoy said: “We’re all very excited by Kenneth’s arrival. He’s a promising young talent with great experience for such a young player. He’ll bolster our forward areas and expand our depth in terms of attacking. He’s been in and met everyone, got a warm welcome and we’re looking forward to working with him.”

Technical Director Steven Naismith said: “Kenneth travelled to Scotland over the weekend so we’ll now start the process of bedding him into the group. He’s coming from halfway across the world so he may need time to settle in but we’ll make it as smooth a transition as possible for him. He got some great attributes and is clearly talented. We think we can improve him as a player and he can help take the team to where we want to go.”

Sporting Director Joe Savage said: “We’re really happy to get Kenneth over to Hearts. It’s another deal that’s taken time and a lot of hard work so my thanks go out to everyone involved, and we certainly believe Kenneth will be worth it. Central America is a new market for us but we’ve never