Heart of Midlothian have sold Makenzie Kirk to St Johnstone for an undisclosed fee.

The 20-year-old, who played for the first-team once in 2022, returned to the club in the summer after a loan spell with Hamilton Academical and has been allowed to move on to gain first-team football elsewhere.

Kirk will now link up with his dad, former Hearts striker Andy Kirk, at St Johnstone. He is assistant manager to ex-Tynecastle Park boss Craig Levein.

Some Hearts fans may be surprised at Kirk's departure considering his impressive goal-scoring exploits for the B team. He scored 28 goals before Christmas and then made a loan switch midway through last season to Accies where he struggled to make an impact.

Steven Naismith explained the reasoning behind the decision.

“Makenzie is at an age where he wants to play first-team football," he told the club's official site.

“The competition at Hearts for a striker’s place is fierce, with the likes of Lawrence Shankland, Liam Boyce, Kyosuke Tagawa and Kenneth Vargas all vying for positions, as well as James Wilson, who came through the academy, and other forward players.

“It’s a tough ask to come into that environment and make a name for yourself. St Johnstone have come in and offered Makenzie a platform to try and make that next step, and it’s an offer the club are happy with so he goes to Perth with both our thanks for his time here and our best wishes for the future.”

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Kirk said leaving Hearts was the "right thing" to do for his career.

 “I am really pleased to get things sorted. It is the next step for my career and it is the right thing for me to do, to move on from Hearts," he said. “I would like to thank everyone from Hearts for the last few years and I am now really looking forward to getting started here with St Johnstone.

“I started really well last season at Hearts. I scored 28 goals before Christmas. I love to score goals, get in behind and work hard off the ball. That is what you get from me.

“You have to be there to score goals and that is one thing I have always been good at. I like to get on the end of things and put it in the back of the net.”

Levein added: “I have known Makenzie for a number of years now and I know how talented he is in front of goal. I have watched him develop and his pace, power and goals can certainly help us.

“His goals for Hearts speak for themselves and I’m sure he will bring that goal scoring quality to McDiarmid Park going forward.”