Ryotaro Meshino: Hearts sign Manchester City midfielder on loan
- Published
Ryotaro Meshino will get his first taste of British football at Hearts
Ryotaro Meshino says he turned down other European clubs to join Hearts on loan from Manchester City.
The 21-year-old playmaker signed for City from Gamba Osaka on the Premier League's August deadline day.
Subject to international clearance, Meshino could be involved in Saturday's Premiership game against Hamilton Academical at Tynecastle.
"I visited many clubs in Europe and I felt that at Hearts, it was the best feeling," he told Hearts TV., external
"The people at the club really wanted me to come here and this was the most important thing when I visited.
"I'm an exciting player who dribbles and wants to assist my team-mates and also score goals."
Manager Craig Levein explained that Hearts had been offered "three or four" players by Manchester City this summer but turned them down "for different reasons".
There have been reports that the English Premier League champions are interested in Hearts' teenage full-back Aaron Hickey.
"We've had discussions with City about a number of our players but there's nothing to report on that," Levein responded.
"It's informal," he said of the link-up. "We can offer something which is difficult for Man City to do, which is get players from outside of the EU into the country because the criteria is much looser in Scotland."
Meanwhile, Hearts duo Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald have joined Dunfermline Athletic on loan for the rest of the campaign.
Cochrane, 18, has 32 first team appearances under his belt, while McDonald, also 18, has featured on 23 occasions, scoring his first goal in a League Cup win over Cowdenbeath last month.
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