It was Saturday morning, in a couple of hours Heart of Midlothian would be playing their Scottish Premiership opener against Rangers and Malachi Boateng stood in the home dressing room at Tynecastle Park looking around at his new team-mates.

Work had been put in across the week building up to the game to seal the deal on a permanent move from Crystal Palace and a three-year contract. Confirmation didn't arrive until the day of the game with the new arrival given a place on the bench.

It took just 10 minutes from the game kicking off for Boateng to realise the magnitude of his move.

“So I met everyone on the first day, came in the changing room and stuff like that so everyone was still super welcoming before the match and stuff like that," he said. "It was something that was different, but I enjoyed (it).

"It was a crazy experience, I remember in the tenth minute I heard everyone screaming. It is something I am looking forward to in the next few years."

Hearts are getting a midfielder who understands Scottish football and its intricacies having spent the past two seasons with Queen's Park and Dundee. 

Dundee boss Tony Docherty had signed him as a No.6 with the view of developing him to be able to play in more advanced midfield roles. He picked out Boateng's technical ability and use of the ball for praise and described Boateng as a "great character".

For the player, last season was an important year in his development.

"He [Docherty] knows that he has helped me quite a lot," Boateng said. "I want to give thanks for that because that is where I developed and that played a massive part in where I am today so grateful for that and grateful for the opportunity they gave me but I want to continue and progress and keep doing better.

"I've been here so I know what the football and the culture is like. I've enjoyed the last two seasons and done well up here, which is why I had a big club looking at me, so I just want to continue and keep showing what I can do.

"I've learned a lot of things about myself and about football while I've been in Scotland over the past two years. It's a different culture compared to English football but I've enjoyed it."

Boateng in action against Hearts. (Image: Mark Scates - SNS Group)

His experience is a key reason why he was keen to return north when Hearts showed an interest even if there were talks of a couple of other teams keen on the midfielder.

"I played against them a lot last season so I've seen the qualities they had," he said. "The club, Edinburgh as a city and the stadium, it feels like a place I can develop. It's a very big club that the fans obviously take to and the manager has a plan so it was somewhere I felt would be a good step for me.

"Europe played a big part as well. It's obviously good to test yourself against European opposition, which is something I've never really done. That excites me.

"I had other options but as soon as I heard of this one, I knew I wanted to take it. It wasn't a hard decision for me."

While he plays most in the holding midfield role, Boateng describes himself as being "quite versatile", wanting to get on the ball, "play forward and get the game ticking and flowing".

Those were elements of his game encouraged by Patrick Viera. After impressing for Crystal Palace's Under-18s and Under-23s, he was taken on a summer tour to Singapore and Australia with the Premier League side, working under the French legend who was then the Eagles' head coach.

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"That was a great, a great atmosphere," he said. "I played against the likes of [Mo] Salah and [Birgil] van Dijk and big players. That was something that helped me develop, playing in front of big crowds as well and I enjoyed that.

"It was amazing working with Viera, an absolute legend and very excited as soon as he came in. I learned new things. It was little things to improve me game, playing forwards and being comfortable to do that. I’ve taken that and been comfortable. I did that at Dundee and want to take that into here as well, being positive and being focussed on the game."

Now he returns to Dundee on Saturday to see a fair few familiar faces after a week of getting to know his new team-mates.