It is set to be the busiest of weeks at Tynecastle Park.

Preparations are well underway for Heart of Midlothian's Europa League play-off second-leg match with Viktoria Plzen on Thursday. Press conferences will be held on Wednesday and on Friday the draw for the league phase of either the Europa or Conference League will be made. By Saturday Hearts should not only know who they are playing, but where and when.

The week ends with Dundee United coming to Gorgie on Sunday afternoon in what is shaping up to be a significant game for Steven Naismith's side before the first international break. It also doubles as the Foundation of Hearts Day.

Within it all, however, is the close of the summer transfer window.

It shuts at 11pm on Friday evening. A report from The Scotsman revealed the time of the window 'slamming shut' was brought forward an hour to "ensure that International Transfer Certificates can be requested prior to midnight on the FIFA system, which is an hour ahead on Central European Time and will therefore reduce the risk of late submissions being referred to the FIFA Player Status Department".

Comments by Naismith following Sunday's 3-1 loss at Motherwell had some fans reaching for the panic button having already entered a panic state after the latest defeat.

The Hearts head coach was asked to assess the final week of the transfer window and whether he expects many ins and outs.

"Like we always have, we'll continue to look about to see what options are there but I feel we have recruited well," he said. "The results have not reflected that but when new players come to the club they very rarely come to the club and have a full expectation of what the demand is and what is expected. I still think there is a bit of adjustment there as well."

Regarding ins and outs, he added: "Not too many."

Taking the latter point first. "Not too many" is not the same as "none".

As for the first point about the recruitment so far. Supporters should remember the example of Calem Nieuwenhof. He was written off and doubted very early on in his Hearts career. 12 months on? It is widely accepted his presence is missed in the midfield. 

Are all nine of the summer additions going to be a success? Using the history of recruitment in football as a barometer, no. But they at least deserve a few months to be judged individually.

A lot was made of the depth of the Hearts squad. We wrote about it prior to the start of the season. As things stand, this is what the squad looks like. Discounting Nathaniel Atkinson who is up for sale and the three youngsters in Finlay Pollock, Macaulay Tait and James Wilson, who between them haven't had any minutes, it leaves a squad of 25.

(Image: BeFunky)

When everyone is fit five senior first-team players will have to be left out of a Premiership matchday squad. Due to the lack of academy graduates over the age of 21 in the squad (only Craig Gordon), Naismith will only be able to name 22 senior players in his European list of the league phase of the Europa or Conference Leagues.

Analysing the squad, Hearts are pretty well stocked across the pitch. Even too well in some areas. Some fans may point to a lack of a driving midfielder but the hope will be that Nieuwenhof provides those qualities when he returns, likely after the international break.

Despite the nine additions the wide areas have not been upgraded but Naismith likely views Yutaro Oda and Kenneth Vargas, when he plays there, making further progress and the return of Barrie McKay from injury as providing plenty of option and competition. There is also Finlay Pollock who has been electric for the B team. The way he is performing he is surely knocking on the door.

Realistically, if Hearts were to add before the window the focus should be on a striker. The club were looking at options earlier in the window and now Kyosuke Tagawa has departed they are one down from where they started.

Read more

If you consider the fact Liam Boyce appears to be much more of a No.10 while Musa Drammeh doesn't appear to be for the here and now just yet, it leaves Lawrence Shankland, Kenneth Vargas and James Wilson.

The latter has missed the last three Hearts B games with a minor injury and could be considered for a loan move with clubs in the Championship understood to be interested. In the last couple of seasons, Hearts have tended to only send players who are 19/20 out on loan. Wilson is 17 and they may want to keep him around the first-team squad. He, Tait and Pollock all train regularly with the first team.

The decision on a new striker should come down to how Wilson is viewed and whether Vargas will predominantly be played through the middle. If it is believed Wilson is ready to contribute regularly at first-team level then he should be given the chance. If not, then regular minutes higher up the pyramid could prove beneficial.

The striker conundrum was seen in Plzen. Shankland had been replaced by Boyce and Vargas was running out of steam. There wasn't a dynamic striker option that would offer an out ball and focal point.

It could be argued that Hearts could do with a more physical forward who they could go more direct to and who can occupy centre-backs.

Aside from adding a possible striker, the window is about potential exits. Not only deciding if young players will be sent on loan and Atkinson's future but if there are current first-team players who view their game time as limited due to the squad size and may want to explore their options elsewhere.

If it is set up to be a very busy week in EH11. The transfer window may not be the busiest aspect of the next few days but it doesn't make it any less intriguing.