Hearts have confirmed that St Johnstone winger Josh McPake is to join the club under freedom of contract in the summer and may try to speed up the arrival of “brilliant talent” Rogers Mato.
McPake, who has scored 15 goals in 27 appearances for the Championship leaders this season, has agreed a three-year deal at Tynecastle.
A pre-contract deal for Uganda forward Mato, 22, was announced earlier this week but manager Derek McInnes said “it would be nice” if the move could happen this month.
Mato has scored 15 goals for Macedonian club Vardar this term.
“I don’t know,”, McInnes said of the prospect of the transfer being fast-tracked. “We don’t control that, but it would be nice if we could.
“We could do with a couple of signings, if we can, to help us. We’ve got a couple of injuries, and we’ll see where we are. I don’t know if that (Mato) can be done, but certainly if it can be done, we’ll try it.
“I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago, before he headed off to Afcon (Africa Cup of Nations) and the boy knew everything about us. He couldn’t wait to come here, and good on him.
“That commitment has been brilliant, and I’m delighted to get him. He’s a brilliant young talent and I think he’s going to do well. It’s great work by the club, identifying him and getting the deal done.”
