Former Hearts sporting director Joe Savage has admitted he regrets not signing Aberdeen defender Nicky Devlin when he had the chance.
The 31-year-old has become a key performer for the Dons since moving to Pittodrie at the end of his Livingston contract in the summer of 2023.
The right-back’s good form culminated in a first Scotland cap against Portugal earlier this month.
In an interview with the Open Goal podcast, Savage said: “That’s a regret of ours, we should have signed Nicky at Hearts.
“I’m going on record here, but I am confident in saying he would have come to us because of the location.
“Aberdeen is far away but they are a massive club.
“Robbie (Neilson) was all over him and wanted him.
“It’s not that Steven (Naismith) didn’t want him, but we just didn’t react quick enough.
“Robbie left and Steven came in and wanted time to work with the team and see how he wanted to play.
“And then bang, it was announced that Aberdeen had signed him on a pre-contract.”
McInnes wanted to bring Hearts trio to Rugby Park
Meanwhile, Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has revealed he tried to sign Ross County attacking midfielder Yan Dhanda before he joined Hearts in the summer.
The former Dons boss was also keen to take Blair Spittal and James Penrice to Rugby Park before they signed pre-contract deals to join the Jambos.
Ahead of this evening’s match at Tynecastle, McInnes said: “Penrice, Dhanda and Spittal were all signings that I would’ve taken.
“They were three players that I asked about and that I tried to get. They were all seen as good signings.”
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