Ryan Stevenson names three Hearts players he would sell as Steven Naismith trims squad

Ryan Stevenson has urged Steven Naismith to trim his bloated squad this summer by offloading at least three players.

Hearts boss Naismith has already announced that Nathaniel Atkinson and Toby Sibbick are free to leave the club after being left out of the pre-season training camp in Tenerife. Stevenson expects the out-of-favour defensive duo to depart over the coming weeks, and the ex-Tynecastle star reckons midfielder Jorge Grant should follow them out the door.

He told the Daily Record: "It's not that long ago Nat Atkinson was squaring up to Kylian Mbappe at the World Cup. And after Qatar 2022 I fully expected his career to accelerate at a pace that would make the Real Madrid superstar blush. I didn't expect the Aussie to be hanging around at Hearts much longer that's for sure.

"I honestly thought Atkinson would come back from the World Cup, take his game to another level, and make the club some good money. But for some reason he has gone into reverse over the last couple of seasons, to a point I reckon he's now in a bracket of Tynecastle expendables.

"With 30 senior players Steven Naismith will be looking at who could be cut free and Atkinson falls into that category this summer. In fact three first-team players I reckon could be off in the next month or two - and not because they aren't good players. But if decent offers came in for Atkinson, Jorge Grant and Toby Sibbick I think it would be hard to say no.

"It's a sign of where Hearts are at that they will be looking to offload players with undoubted talent who just won't be good enough to be regular starters. Peter Haring and Andy Halliday have already been released but more will follow if the price is right."