On Monday Heart of Midlothian found out who they would be playing in the Europa League play-off round later this month. 

The winners of the third qualifying round tie between Ukrainian side Kryvbas or Viktoria Plzen of Czechia lie in store. In principle, Hearts will play the first-leg away from home on August 22 with the second-leg scheduled for August 29 at Tynecastle Park.

Kryvbas and Plzen meet in Slovakia on Thursday before the return leg in Czechia on August 15 when it will confirmed who Hearts will face.

Steven Naismith will then have to decide on his squad for Europe. As analysed on Hearts Standard previously, the Hearts head coach will likely have to leave some players out of the squad due to certain constraints and conditions set by UEFA when selecting a squad.

Teams are allowed to submit squads of 25 but eight of those have to be a mix of club and association-trained. Of those eight, at least four have to be club-trained but of the first-team players over the age of 21 only Craig Gordon fits the club-trained criteria meaning Hearts' Euro squad could be limited to 22.

The deadline for player registration and submission of lists to UEFA is 11pm (24.00 cet) on Friday, August 16.

It means Hearts still have plenty of time to potentially add transfer target Andres Salazar to the list of options. The Colombian left-back was at Tynecastle Park on Saturday watching the team's Scottish Premiership opener with Rangers.

While the player's club Atletico Nacional reported via their YouTube channel that he would be continuing his career in Scotland, the move is yet to be completed, Hearts Standard understands. The club are continuing to work on a deal to bring him to Gorgie.

The transfer is expected to be a loan with an option to make the move permanent.


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When asked after the game about his possible signing, Naismith said: "We'll see how that develops in the coming days.”

The 21-year-old Colombia international is a highly-regarded defender who emerged over the past 18 months at Atletico Nacional, one of the country's biggest clubs. He's had experience in both the Colombian top-flight and in the Copa Libertadores. He made his international bow in a friendly against Iraq last year.

Salazar, who hasn't played since April, has been linked with teams in Europe but Tynecastle Park is the likely destination. 

He would become the second international full-back to join Hearts this summer following Gerald Taylor who has instantly become a fan favourite.