Naismith in for Hibs tie

STEVEN NAISMITH arrived in Edinburgh last night to put the finishing touches to his loan move to Hearts and could be pitched straight into Scottish Cup action against Hibs on Sunday. Talks over a half-season deal for the Norwich City attacker should be concluded today and Tynecastle boss Craig Levein is confident of pushing through a deal for the

31-year-old, who has 18 months remaining on a lucrative Carrow Road contract. Naismith, an £8.5million signing from Everton in January 2016, has fallen out of the first-team picture under Daniel Farke. An ankle injury forced him out of the team and he was unable to reclaim even a fringe place in the squad. The ex-Everton player, keen to move back to Scotland for family reasons, has long been admired by former national team boss Levein. With 45 caps to his name, Naismith sees the move to Hearts as a good footballing opportunity and a chance to reignite his international career. His last appearances for the national team came in a double-header last March. He started — and scored — in a 1-1 draw with Canada at Easter Road and then came off the bench for Leigh Griffiths early in the second half as Scotland beat Slovenia 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden. Naismith will be Hearts’ second signing of the window following the loan capture of Manchester United left-back Demetri Mitchell. Levein remained tight-lipped when asked about his interest in Naismith during Hearts’ winter-training camp in Spain, but Farke confirmed earlier this week he was heading for the exit door at Norwich. ‘He is searching for a new challenge. I expect that will be done in the next few days,’ said the Carrow Road manager. ‘I mentioned many times that Steven is a professional lad and it would not be a problem (for him) to stay here, but he wants to move.’ Rangers and Kilmarnock were both credited with an interest in signing their versatile former star, who hasn’t played a competitive match since August. Meanwhile, Emerson Hyndman is back on the Ibrox club’s radar, with the American international midfielder deemed surplus to requirements at Bournemouth. Hyndman impressed during a loan spell at Rangers in the second half of last season and is poised to move from the south coast again after making just two appearances for Eddie Howe’s side this season. Graeme Murty is an admirer of the player after working with him last season, although there has been no fresh contact between the clubs as yet.