Malachi Boateng: Midfielder joins Hearts from Crystal Palace

Malachi Boateng joined Heart of Midlothian from Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee in time to make his debut against Rangers – and potential signing Andres Salazar was watching from the Tynecastle stand.

Boateng, the 22-year-old defensive midfielder who was on loan to Dundee last season, has agreed a three-year deal with the Scottish Premiership club.

His signing was announced in the morning before he took his place on the bench and came on as a late substitute in Saturday’s goalless Scottish Premiership opener.

London-born Boateng has previous experience in Scotland after a loan spell with Queen’s Park before making 36 appearances for Dundee.

Head coach Steven Naismith told the club website: “In Malachi, we’ve got a strong, athletic, ball-winning and ball-playing midfielder.

“We’ve done the bulk of our recruitment early, but we’re always assessing our differing requirements and, with a couple of players out through injury, it’s pushed us to act swiftly.”

Indeed, when asked whether Salazar, the 21-year-old currently with Atletico Nacional and who has one senior cap for Colombia, was at Saturday’s game, Naismith replied: “I think he was, so we’ll see how that develops in the coming days.”