Ryan Fulton became Heart of Midlothian's second summer signing when the club confirmed his arrival on Wednesday morning. 

The 28-year-old won't be the headline addition this summer but he will fulfill an important role in the squad, providing goalkeeping depth and competing with Craig Gordon and Zander Clark.

Fulton, who has signed a two-year deal, is no stranger to Scottish football after seven years with Hamilton Academical.

READ MORE: Why Hearts have 'won a watch' with James Penrice: Expert insight into signing

Early career

Fulton came through the Liverpool youth academy, joining the English giants at under-10 level and working his way up through the ranks, playing in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League.

While he didn't make an appearance for Liverpool he was the third choice for a spell and trained with the first-team on a regular basis when they were managed by Brendan Rodgers. He also made the bench on a handful of occasions.

During his time at Anfield, he had two loan spells, firstly with Portsmouth in League Two and then Chesterfield in League One. He credits those periods as being more beneficial for his career than playing Premier League 2 for Liverpool due to the competitive nature of the games.

“I realised when I went on loan to Portsmouth — and then to  Chesterfield — what it was all about because it was proper football," he said.

“I played there for six months and it was a different world compared to reserves or Under-23s at Liverpool where you’re looked after by a babysitter. You had to do things for yourself."

Scotland recognition

Fulton was born in Burnley but qualified for Scotland through his dad who is from Paisley. He represented Scotland at under-16, under-18 and under-21s. His last appearance saw him in the same team as current internationals Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, Ryan Porteous and Ross McCrorie.

He missed his brother's wedding in Los Angeles when playing for the 21s in October 2017.

Move to Accies

Fulton still had a year left on his contract at Liverpool before joining Accies. Such was his desire to progress as a first-team player he asked to be allowed to leave.

“Liverpool is a great place to learn your trade but as you get older you realise there are other ways to advance your career," he said of the decision.

“You can stay there and keep pushing and pushing, but you don’t play games. So that’s why I went out on loan — to get game time and get experience and use that to get a career. I think a lot of lads cling on because it’s great to say you’re part of Liverpool. But the bigger picture is you have to be out there playing."

Accies spell

Across seven years with Hamilton, Fulton played in the Premiership, Championship and League One. It took him time to establish himself as No.1 at Accies. Game time was limited in his first two seasons while he missed the majority of the third due to a knee injury.

His fourth season with the club saw him take the starting goalkeeper position. He played the majority of games in the last four years up until injuring an arm against Falkirk in December before returning to the bench for the run-in.

Fulton denies Lewis Vaughan in the Challenge Cup finalFulton denies Lewis Vaughan in the Challenge Cup final (Image: SNS)

In 2022/23, he produced one of the best goalkeeping performances of the season as he kept Raith Rovers at bay in the final of the Challenge Cup in Falkirk. Raith star Lewis Vaughan couldn't believe the level of his performance which denied the Fife side what looked like certain goals. 

"He's probably had the game of his life," Vaughan said afterward.

Hearts move

Fulton was thought of well at Accies and Steven Naismith is well aware of his attributes to provide depth at Tynecastle Park having seen him a number of times when watching the side under former Hearts coach John Rankin.

Speaking to the Evening News earlier this month, the Hearts boss explained a key reason for his addition was how it would allow Harry Stone and Liam McFarlane to continue their development with both viewed highly by the club.

"We've got two younger goalies who we feel have long-term potential," he said. "We don't want to bring somebody in who is going to stop that, but then we also would like a bit of experience and somebody who is willing to be on it, be ready and be a good professional, whilst understanding that the game time might not be there all the time. I think we have found the right one.”

What Fulton said:

"My left foot can launch a ball and I try to be as commanding as I can be," he told Hearts TV.

"It was one of the biggest things I wanted to come here for, to learn from the two of them [Craig Gordon and Zander Clark]."