Football academy

Drysdale and Stone sign new deals

22 January 2024

The club are delighted to confirm academy graduates Ethan Drysdale and Harry Stone have both signed new contracts until the summer of 2025, subject to SFA approval. 

 

Ethan, who has been with the club since the age of 10, continues to impress following his return from injury and is going from strength to strength featuring on a regular basis at left-back for Hearts B in the Scottish Lowland League.

 

Harry meanwhile is currently enjoying a productive loan spell at Queen of the South, following a successful spell in the B Team last season.

 

The pair have now pledged their futures to the club and will remain in Gorgie for the next 18 months. 

 

Speaking to the Official Hearts Website, head coach Steven Naismith said:

 

"I am delighted that Ethan has signed. He has really worked hard to get the reward of this new contract. He has had it tough with injuries over the last few years, he had over a year out, but firstly, to get over his injury and then secondly, to use that time in the gym to become more of a man than a boy, has led to him performing brilliantly for the B Team. He has been in the first team environment quite a lot and he has a bright future ahead of him. 

 

On Harry Stone, Naismith added: 

 

"Goalkeepers are slightly different in their pathway. Sometimes, they can't always see that next step as clearly as outfield players do. He is someone who has been in full-time for a while. He has worked hard and has had a couple of loan moves in the past that perhaps weren't as successful as we needed them to be. 

"But this season, we sat down and we had a real clear plan of what he was going to do this season and what we want him to do in the future and it has worked really well. 

"Last season, I worked closely with him in the B Team and his development in that year alone, is probably the biggest indication of why he deserves a new contract.

"This season he has gone out on loan and I felt quite comfortable that he would be a success at Queen of the South and he has been."