Heart of Midlothian announced yesterday it has completed the signing of Ryan Fulton as a free agent. The English goalkeeper has joined the Premiership club on a two year deal.
The 28-year-old previously played at Hamilton Academical F.C., where he guarded the goal since 2017. Before that the goalie was contracted to Liverpool F.C. since 2015, who loaned the Burnley-born player out to Portsmouth (2016) and Chesterfield (2017).
At Tynecastle Park it will be Ryan Fulton’s role to provide competition to fellow goalkeepers Zander Clark and Craig Gordon. Last season Zander Clark defended the Hearts goal 32 Premiership games, and is likely to be manager Steven Naismith’s number one for the upcoming season as well.
On the Official Hearts Website Steven Naismith highlighted the goalie’s drive and the added flexibility for other prospects. ”Ryan’s not coming in to just make up the numbers. He’s a driven and determined guy who wants to push himself as far as he can, so to have him working alongside Craig Gordon and Zander Clark is going to be a big positive for the club.” ”What this also allows us to do is give our younger goalkeeping prospects, who we rate very highly, the opportunity to go out on loan and gain more first team minutes.”
Ryan Fulton is the second signing for Heart of Midlothian this transfer window. On Tuesday the Jambos announced to have signed left sided defender James Penrice on a three-year deal. The 25-year-old comes over from last season’s relegated side Livingston.
Hearts finished third in the 2023/2024 Premiership season, which means the Edinburgh side qualified for Europa League football. The filled European and domestic match calendar may be beneficial to the English newcomer, as there will be plenty of matches that could allow Ryan Fulton to be given a chance to start.
