Heart of Midlothian suffered yet another Premiership defeat – their third of the season – to heap the pressure on Steven Naismith.
The club currently occupy sixth place in the table with seven points from their opening six matches and with high expectations, especially considering they brought some excellent talent to Edinburgh in the summer, recent results are surely concerning.
The Gorgie outfit managed to lure some exciting gems to Scotland during the summer, with Frankie Kent, Calem Nieuwenhof and Kyosuke Tagawa all arriving at the Tynecastle outfit as Naismith bolstered his squad with hopes of securing third place in the league while going far in both cup competitions.
Kent in particular has shone for the club, as he currently ranks first across the whole squad for overall Sofascore rating (7.53) while also ranking second for accurate passes (58.8) and first for clearances (4.5) per game, indicating that he could be a wonderful piece of business by the club.
Last season's star Lawrence Shankland has also continued his fine form from 2022/23 into the current campaign, already scoring five goals from 11 appearances as he hopes to improve on the 28 goals he netted last year.
The Scot has been in rampant mood and should he attract attention due to his performances, Hearts could make a profit on the striker.
Another signing from 2022 could also generate a windfall for Hearts should he move on to pastures new in the near future, as Nathaniel Atkinson has seen his value rise since moving to Scotland.
When did Hearts sign Nathaniel Atkinson?
Midway through the 2021/22 season, Robbie Neilson was looking to strengthen his squad ahead of the second half of the campaign as he was aiming to secure third spot in the table for the club.
He arrived in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee from Australian side Melbourne City, and he was keen on moving to Europe in order to improve as a player, saying: "I first heard about Hearts' interest about a month or two ago.
"I had gotten to a stage in my career where I was ready to play in Europe, and fortunately Hearts were interested. It was a match made in heaven and things moved pretty quickly after that.”
Fellow compatriot Cammy Devlin had moved to Hearts just six months prior and linking up with him was another key factor in moving to the Premiership.
He added: "I've known Cammy for about three years; first met in the junior Australian camps. We hit it off straight away; he's a bit of a rascal! It'll be good to see him again."
"A lot of Australians have come here, done well and had a great career out of it. I think that's pleasing and reassuring that this was the right move for me."
Signing an emerging talent like this looked like it would be a shrewd move, and he has since seen his value rise in the 18 months since arriving.
How much is Nathaniel Atkinson worth now?
According to Football Transfers, the right-back is now currently valued at €1.5m (£1.3m) and with the player only turning 24 years old in June, he has yet to hit his peak years.
This suggests that his value could continue to rise in the coming months and years and proves that Hearts have a genuine talent in their hands.
His value peaked at €2.2m (£1.9m) back in June 2022, and it certainly could push north of that figure if he continues to impress for the Gorgie outfit.
Why is Nathaniel Atkinson worth this much?
The defender made 79 appearances for the A-League side across a four-and-a-half-year spell and this also included winning the title during the 2020/21 season with the club.
Despite arriving midway through a season, Atkinson showed plenty of promise during his opening few months as a Hearts player, ranking first for successful dribbles per game across the squad (1.3) while also ranking in the top ten for accurate passes (28) and key passes (0.7) per game and this was a solid base to build from heading into his first full season.
Indeed, he finished the 2022/23 campaign ranked third for successful dribbles per game (one), sixth for key passes (0.8) and first for tackles (2.2) per game as he demonstrated his strengths in both attacking and defensive metrics.
His performances, particularly towards the end of that season drew praise from the media, with journalist Joel Sked lauding him following a "fantastic" display against Hearts in May.
His displays for the Tynecastle side have led him to make his debut for Australia, winning his first cap in March 2022, and he has gone on to win eight caps overall while representing Hearts, being called up for their World Cup squad last year.
Atkinson started Australia’s very first game against the defending champions France, yet it wasn’t exactly the finest of performances, losing possession 12 times throughout the tie while they conceded four goals and the defender won only four of his 11 ground duels.
It was a display to forget, and he didn’t feature for his nation for the rest of the competition as they reached the last 16 for the first time since 2006 and only the second time in their history.
It was a learning experience, and he will be looking to continue his development at Hearts as he approaches his prime years.
Hearts have certainly struck gold on the defender, especially with the fact his value has risen substantially in the 18 or so months he has been at the club and this will please Naismith.
The next step will be for him to continue to impress and display both his attacking and defensive qualities, which he appears to have in abundance.
It might not be long until the club receive an offer too good to turn down for the 24-year-old and when that time comes, Hearts will stand to rake in a vast amount.