Hearts last night confirmed the signing of Turkish defender Alim Ozturk on a three-year contract.

The 21-year-old was born in the Netherlands, where he played with SC Cambuur before earning a move to Trabzonspor in Turkey.

Ozturk has also appeared for Turkey's under-21 side and Robbie Neilson is confident the player will acquit himself quickly to the SPFL Championship. "He is a very good player. He was sold to Trabzonspor 18 months ago for quite a bit of money and was a big prospect for them," said the Hearts head coach.

"We have been trailing him for a few weeks and didn't think we had a chance of getting him but I'm delighted to have signed him. Sometimes you just have to wait a little while to get players like him."