Jamie McCart became Heart of Midlothian's second January arrival, signing a pre-contract agreement that turned into a permanent deal between the team's 1-0 wins over Motherwell and Dundee United to start the new year.
The 27-year-old arrived following a less than straightforward two-and-a-half years at Rotherham United.
In fact, his move to Hearts came off the back of his first prolonged spell in the Millers line-up under fellow Scotsman Steve Evans who regarded him as one of his best centre-backs, if not his best.
With the implementation of Jamestown Analytics, there will have been an expectation from many that the partnership would provide an array of exotic names. Therefore it is perhaps understandable that some fans were underwhelmed by the arrival of a former St Johnstone centre-back plying his trade in England's League One with a four-and-a-half year deal, raising some eyebrows due to previous issues with such contract lengths.
An important factor to consider, however, is that within any squad there has to be players who are tried and trusted in the league at this level, are reliable and provide the team with experience and continuity. McCart ticks those boxes.
Rewind to the summer of 2022 and McCart was one of the most in-demand defenders. He had helped the Perth Saints win the Scottish and League Cup double the summer previous and demonstrated that availability was a key attribute. He missed just five of 109 games during his time at McDiarmid Park. Two of those were in the League Cup group stage where he was on the bench.
There was a significant level of interest with no less than 26 teams expressing their interest in signing the centre-back on a free following the expiration of his St Johnstone contract.
It resulted in the player and his representatives weeding their way through all the options, considering the team, the manager, the background of the club before narrowing it down to a shortlist.
"Effectively which club would be the best possible fit for Jamie as he was entering that period of time of taking his talent to England and to try to make his mark down there," Raymond Sparkes, McCart's representative, told Hearts Standard.
"Sometimes you're lucky if you've got two clubs, but it wasn't six, it wasn't 16, 26 clubs had an interest and declared an interest in him, so that's pretty significant.
"We whittled that down to probably four or five and by far the best presentation that was made by a manager at that time was made by [Rotherham manager] Paul Warne and he had quite an interesting approach, it was very personalised and I think he won Jamie over because they talked about all sorts of things."
One of the topics of conversations were their love of dogs and the personalisation struck a chord with the player. He was also joining a club who were returning to the English Championship.
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Less than three months after signing a three-year deal, Paul Warne departed Rotherham to take over Derby County. Suddenly, McCart's situation was up in the air, the manager he signed for departing so early into his move.
When Matt Taylor arrived from Exeter City to replace Warne, a knock kept McCart out of the first game under the new manager. It wasn't long before he was told game time would be limited with Taylor not as familiar with McCart as the man who signed him.
A mid-season loan to eventual League Two champions Leyton Orient would follow and then a full-season loan to Barnsley in League One when there was still no place for him back at Rotherham.
McCart would play 30 times for the Tykes and there was interest around a permanent deal but he was wanted back at his parent club by Evans.
His journey in England was one of "bumps", including a minor injuries keeping him out at the wrong time on a couple of occasions, and a glimpse into how transfers and careers can alter with a change of circumstances, like the change of a manager.
He was prepared to stay down south, only the "lure" of Hearts was too strong.
The club, armed with Jamestown Analytics data, had done plenty of research into the player's qualities, which was clear from when discussions began over a deal.
Both Neil Critchley, who had known McCart from his time managing in England, and sporting director Graeme Jones, who had encountered McCart when he had been called up for Scotland's youth teams, including the under-21s, provided the personal connection.
"I think we're at a stage these days where the recruitment process is full of statistical breakdowns and you know it doesn't get much better than the kind of analytical breakdown that is provided by somebody like Jamestown," Sparkes said.
"But the human touch is all important and it was the human touch from Neil Critchley.
"It was interesting too because I had in the previous year been involved in another presentation that Neil Critchley had made to me as the manager of Blackpool, so I kind of knew Neil from that exchange. I knew what to expect and I knew that it would go well and, true to form Neil, came through and said all the right things to Jamie.
"I just think it's a great fit for Jamie. I think he's a great fit for Hearts and I think Hearts are a great fit for him."
In terms of the playing squad, there was one member of the Hearts team who already had a strong connection with McCart. Former St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark who offered to pick the centre-back up from his parents to take him to his first day at training at his new club.
Within a matter of days of the deal going through, McCart was on the bench to face Dundee United.
As the game ticked over into stoppage time, Critchley turned to his bench and McCart. Having had a late defensive change go against him at Ross County, the Hearts head coach asked the new recruit to go into the middle of the defence as a back four became a back five with Dundee United pushing for an equaliser.
Two minutes into his Hearts debut, the final minute of stoppage time, a ball was swung in from the right. McCart timed his jump to perfection, towering over an opponent and heading the ball out the box.
It was his one defensive action as Hearts held onto a 1-0 win but provided a small snapshot as to what to expect from the centre-back.
McCart was an ever-present for Callum Davidson on the left of a back three for St Johnstone and before him Tommy Wright as the left-sided centre-back in a back four. He was the only player Wright paid money for during his Saints tenure, bringing his pre-contract from Inverness CT forward to arrive in January of 2020. The five-figure fee turned out to be a bargain.
His time with St Johnstone can provide an indication of what he will bring to the Hearts defence. He was imperious in the season the Perth side won the double – beating Hibs along the way in both competitions – and the Easter Road outfit tried to sign him at the end of that campaign.
The following season, his final at McDiarmid Park, was not quite as fruitful. It's been noted that his form took a dip as the defensive trio of McCart, Liam Gordon and Jason Kerr was broken up.
Comparing the player's metrics from those two seasons there isn't anything that suggests a huge drop-off.
The one metric that is notable in terms of a negative is the passing percentage. Context is required. St Johnstone weren't a team who had their defenders spend a lot of time on the ball passing between each other, which can help increase that success rate.
A drop-off from McCart was that he went from making no errors in possession that led to a shot to occasional ones.
As for defending there is a hell of a lot to like. That can be seen when comparing McCart's 2020/21 campaign – the level Hearts will be looking for him to reach – with Craig Halkett's excellent 2021/22 season as well as Frankie Kent and Kye Rowles last season.
McCart (blue) & Halkett (red)
Halkett was one of the best centre-backs in the air that season (as he is this campaign) but McCart is not far behind him.
McCart (blue) & Kent (red)
If McCart is most comparable to one Hearts centre-back it is Frankie Kent.
McCart (blue) & Rowles (red)
One of the biggest issues Rowles has had is his dominance in the air. While he was excellent against Dundee United, McCart is far more dominant as a left-sided centre-back in that regard.
Both Halkett and Rowles are more engaging in terms of their approach to opponents. But, again, that could be down to style. St Johnstone allowed the opposition to have the second most passes per defensive action which demonstrates they weren't a high-pressing team.
Another encouraging metric is how little McCart is dribbled past. He may find himself in more situations where he is more exposed with Hearts a more attacking team and are countered more often than McCart will have experienced during his time in Perth.
With his future sorted, the hope will now be for McCart to have a far more straightforward time at Tynecastle than he did in England and perhaps add to the silverware won during a successful period in Perth.
