Nathaniel Atkinson
Hearts announced the acquisition of highly-rated Australian defender Nathaniel on Christmas Eve 2021.
The right-sided wing back joined the Jambos in January 2022 from Melbourne City on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
22-year-old Nathaniel, an Australian Olympic teammate of Cammy Devlin, has been a rising star in his homeland over the past couple of years, culminating in a league title and man of the match award in last season’s A-League Grand Final.
Tasmanian-born, Nathaniel joined Melbourne City’s academy in 2016, plying his trade with the reserve side in 2016/17. Impressing with the reserves, he was called up to the senior side the following campaign and made his first-team debut in August 2017.
His form was rewarded with a two-year professional contract in January 2018, and he would pen another two-year deal in 2020 after a move to Perth Glory fell by the wayside due to the pandemic.
Nathaniel earned rave reviews in his homeland. He helped Melbourne City to win the A-League Premiership before putting in a man of the match performance in the 3-1 Grand Final win over Sydney FC, where he scored City’s first goal, which won him the Joe Martson medal for best player in the game.
With three Australia U20 caps to his name, Nathaniel was named in the Olyroos’ Olympics squad, alongside Cammy, for the 2020 games – held in 2021 - in Tokyo. He played in their 2-0 win over Argentina before putting in another man of the match display in a 1-0 defeat to Spain.
The marauding wing back has been a big success in the maroon jersey, and quickly established himself as a regular in Graham Arnold's senior Socceroos squad, featuring at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.