'My grandma got paid petrol money': Aidan Denholm's uplifting journey to new Hearts contract

Aidan Denholm is not your average teenage Scottish footballer, nor has he had an average journey to making it to the pro game.

Told he was free to leave Hearts earlier this year, the 19-year-old midfielder was given a reprieve when Steven Naismith took over as manager. The duo worked together in the club’s B team and Denholm was handed a one-year deal, challenged to show he was worth more. The boyhood Jambo has responded in style. He played in both legs of the club’s European tie with Rosenborg and impressed with his performances. Just a couple of months later, a longer contract has been forthcoming. Denholm is now tied to Hearts until 2026. The wide smile he wore as he spoke to the press about it on Friday said it all.

Talking to Denholm about being awarded security and his career so far was an uplifting 15 minutes. Most young footballers, understandably, are not comfortable with media duties. Not this one. An articulate and engaging fellow, the central midfielder was quick to namecheck his grandmother Anne for running him to training when he was a part-timer looking to make it and spoke in glowing terms about Naismith, who is clearly his chief mentor. Considering Denholm feared his Hearts career was over and looked for part-time supermarket work not so long ago, he deserves to savour the moment.

"Words can't really describe it,” Denholm beamed when asked to give his views on the new deal. “I was just focusing on my football and trying to get back in the team. My agent came to me about a new deal and it was something I wanted to get done straight away. I've been a Jambo all my life and I wanted to get it signed.

Denholm helped Hearts progress past Rosenborg in Europe.

"When Naisy got the job, we had a conversation and I didn't think it would go this well. Coming on against Rosenborg was a real chance. I signed for a year [in summer after he was told he was being released] until June 2024. Then I've been offered something longer-term so I signed because this is where I want to be. I said to my agent I was happy to stay if Hearts came forward with anything. The new deal shows the trust me. I've never had a long-term deal. I was part-time at the start then had to work my way up. I kept signing one-year deals so this is the first time I've signed anything more. Having that security is good for my family."

Denholm has worked his way through the youth academy and at times, his only reward was expenses. “When I was 16 you get told if you are getting a deal or not,” he recalled. “At the time they offered me part-time. It was something me and my family discussed, what do I want to do and stuff. I said that I need to prove I am worth being here. I just kept the head down and got paid expenses. I was still at school at the time so doing football and school. They were asking me to come in a lot so I left school, my gamble really. Luckily it paid off.

"I got offered a year then Covid hit. During Covid I applied for a job at Tesco because I wasn't actually employed by anyone so I was trying to get some money in my back pocket but I've never had a part-time job. I just kept working through. Now to have the deal until 2026 is something which is a bit surreal after that journey.

"I couldn't drive at the time so it was my grandma who would drive me up and down. My grandma got paid petrol money. Steven Naismith has been the biggest influence but also my family, I can't speak highly enough of them. My grandma taking me in when I was 16, it is something which sticks without a doubt.”

Hearts Aidan Denholm has signed a new contract at the club.

Loan spells at Berwick Rangers and East Fife gave Denholm a taste of men’s football but before Naismith succeeded Robbie Neilson, was there a moment he feared it would not happen for him in the game? “I wouldn't say not happen but there were many times you see other boys doing well and you are just like 'why can't that be me',” Denholm admitted. “When I was part-time Aaron Hickey was coming through and you use him as an inspiration, looking 'wow, look at his career now'. I would never think it is not going to happen. It might not happen here, that's what I was thinking, it could be somewhere else but luckily enough it has been here and I am delighted I am still here in the building. I'd have always played football and kept going if it wasn't here.”

That is something Denholm doesn’t have to worry about for now, "I have aspirations to get back in the team, if that means I have to go on loan in January then it's something we talk about, if not, I'll be ready,” he said, showing his maturity. His boss Naismith is clearly a fan. “I’m pleased for him because he’s worked hard for it,” said the manager on the new deal. “His Hearts career has probably been in the category of doing everything the hard way. Even coming in as a kid, he wasn’t a high prospect. He got offered the opportunity and he grasped it with both hands and he moves on and on. He works harder than anyone here to be better. He’s got a gym programme that he’s constantly pushing, his nutrition has got better.”

For a club that has made no secret of its desire to use its academy players, Denholm will now look to break back into the first team, having been an unused sub in the past three matches. Given what he’s gone through to get to this point, you wouldn’t bet against him.