New Hearts signing Perry Kitchen praises club and capital

USA international Perry Kitchen has given Hearts and Edinburgh the thumbs up after signing for the Gorgie club on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Perry Kitchen heaped praise on Edinburgh and Hearts. Picture: Hearts

The 24-year-old defensive midfielder had been a free agent since leaving DC United in December and, subject to international clearance, could make his Jambos debut in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Premiership fixture at Dundee.

Kitchen has been impressed by what he has seen so far in Scotland and is confident it will not take him long to get up to speed.

He said: “I’m very impressed. The training facility, and with the new improvements as well, is going to be top class.

“Edinburgh as a city is beautiful, with the castle, Princes Street, it’s what you want out of a city. This is a great place to be, a great place to start, for sure. I’m excited to get going.

“When I first got here Robbie [Neilson, head coach] gave me the rounds, showed me everything, explained how the team is and how they like to play.

“I was impressed with everything. It was all the right things that I was hearing.

“I feel like, coming off the US camp which ended about a month ago, I’m still in pretty good fitness form.

“But it’s obviously different doing your own thing as it is to being in a training environment, so it’ll take a bit of time but I think it’ll happen pretty quickly.”