KEEPER NORING DEAL AT HEARTS
HEARTS head coach Robbie Neilson hopes to finalise the addition of Viktor Noring by the end of the week after offering the Swedish goalkeeper a 12-month deal. Noring played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s friendly against Cowdenbeath following a two-week trial. Neilson now wants the 25-year-old to offer experienced competition to Jack Hamilton and will seek an answer once his squad returns from tomorrow’s Europa League first qualifying round second leg against FC Infonet. ‘Viktor played on Saturday and did really well,’ said Neilson. ‘He’s away back to Sweden to speak to his family and his agent, then he’ll get back to us in the next couple of days. ‘We’ve been looking for someone to come in and compete with Jack. ‘He’s a good size, he’s a good character. He’s also at a decent age where he can progress further. He ticked a lot of the boxes. ‘We’re away to Estonia now. We’re not back training here until Friday, so I’d like to try and get something by then to get an idea of where we are.’ While Noring could soon be signing on for the season, Neilson confirmed that Jordan McGhee was bound for Middlesbrough on loan. The 19-year-old defender missed out on a move to the Riverside on the final day of the January transfer window but their interest has since been revived. Entering the final 12 months of his Tynecastle contract, McGhee will have the chance to impress in Boro’s development squad as he seeks to land a permanent move to the English Premier League club. ‘Jordan has agreed to go to Middlesbrough,’ said Neilson. ‘It came up in January but it fell apart at the last minute. But they came in again a week or two ago and he was keen to go. ‘They will have a look at him then we’ll discuss it.’ Hearts hold a 2-1 first-leg lead against Infonet and Neilson expects the benefits of that first competitive game of the season will be seen in Tallinn. ‘I’m sure the boys will be sharper,’ he said. ‘We spoke about the performance in the dressing room. It’s up to us to put in a better one.’