First in the Scottish Premiership, with a three-point lead over second place Celtic, with three matches to go. A situation that seemed impossible at the beginning of the year for Hearts of Midlothian, but is now a reality. And so, the Edinburgh club is now under immense pressure: that felt by those who could return to winning a national title that has been missing since 1960, but also by those who could disrupt the hierarchies of Scottish football, given that Celtic and Rangers have been winning the championship uninterruptedly for 41 years, since the days of Aberdeen under Sir Alex Ferguson. In short, it can be said: this is an incredible season for the Jam Tarts . Also, because it all stemsfrom a hyper-contemporary model, based on advanced statistics, scouting, and the sell-to-improve principle.
The project and the new era of Hearts are based on a simple concept: to make the club sustainable in the long term through market strategy. A condition that, until recently, could not be met. Just look at the numbers: last season, Celtic recorded revenues of 166 million euros, Rangers 109 million, while Hearts stopped at 28. An enormous gap, which is also reflected in the market: Rangers invested 43.7 million in new players, Celtic reached 30.2 while Hearts did not go beyond five million. Yet, despite this huge economic imbalance, the Edinburgh club has identified a possible way out: data analysis.
Everything changed in the summer when the new owner, Tony Bloom, arrived, who paid 9.86 million pounds to acquire 29% of the club, without even having voting rights – the rest of the shares are in the hands of a fan ownership. Bloom decided not to invest a penny more after UEFA limited his participation: since he controls two other clubs, Brighton and Union Saint Gilloise, he could not go beyond a third of the shares. “We will win the championship, maybe not this year, but it won’t be long. And we will also qualify for the Champions League,” Bloom stated in the summer.
To build the team and keep this promise (which seemed absurd and now no longer does), Bloom sought help from his advanced statistics company, Jamestown Analytics. As highlighted by Transfermarkt, the goal was clear from the start: to develop a “player trading” model, that is, to buy young players at low cost, enhance them, and sell them for significant amounts. So that the proceeds can be reinvested. Considering the amount of money generated by Hearts over the last ten years, just eight million euros from player sales, it was hard to think that this model could take root immediately. And instead, the new project started right away: the sale of James Penrice to AEK Athens, a player who arrived on a free transfer and was sold with a significant capital gain (despite the player wanting to stay in Edinburgh), injected some funds into the budget dedicated to the transfer market. And thus, some purchases that had a concrete impact arrived: Claudio Braga, Alexandros Kyziridis, and Alexander Schwolow are among the protagonists of the season. In particular, Braga’s value has grown from about 500 thousand to 6 million euros, with a possible summer sale already on the horizon.
If the field is telling an already extraordinary season, the real turning point could be outside the playing field. The ability of Hearts to transform into a sustainable and competitive club through the data-driven model will be crucial to understand whether this is not just a parenthesis, but the beginning of a new era in Scottish football. A small note on the side: Hearts are named after the pub where they were founded. The venue was inspired by the famous novel by Walter Scott, which tells of the citizens’ revolt against John Porteous, captain of the Town Guard. Is there therefore a better society to break the dominance of Celtic and Rangers?