Hearts kids are leading the way in Europe
Ann Budge believes Hearts’ youth academy will become a goldmine for the club after revealing the Jambos are the kings of Europe when it comes to showing faith in their teenage talent.
Boss Craig Levein handed debuts to Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald at the age of 16 last season, while the likes of Jamie Brandon, Rory Currie and Lewis Moore were trusted to make an impression in the senior ranks.
Callumn Morrison has been a breakout star this term, while Chris Hamilton, Cammy Logan, Connor Smith, Euan Henderson and Daniel Baur have all been given their bows in 2018.
While Levein has been in a position to rely less on unproven youngsters this season, the continued investment in their Riccarton academy is a continued source of pride for Budge – and one she knows will soon bear fruit.
“Our focus is not solely on the firstteam,” she explained.
“We have been talking about the importance of youth development ever since I have been involved. I think the key thing is that, as everyone can increasingly see, it is starting to pay off.
“Last year, our home-grown teenagers chalked up 92 competitive appearances and our teenagers played the most competitive minutes of any professional club in Europe – 5,595 minutes.
“Harry Cochrane also became the youngest ever Hearts goalscorer when he found the net against Celtic.
“We were in the top four in Scotland, by how the Scottish FA measure performance, and have been awarded Elite Level 1 status which is the top banding when Project Brave was announced.
“We are doing an awful lot right at the academy level, and our investments are paying off.”
While her priority is to see those gifted kids star in a maroon jersey, Budge acknowledges that cashing in on their top talents will be a pivotal source of income moving forward.
She added: “We are very confident that our investment in youth development will allow us to tap into a lot of homegrown talent – we already have.
“As these players develop and move on, it will hopefully generate a very lucrative revenue stream that will grow.”