Former New York City winger Gary Mackay-Steven has returned to Scotland to join Hearts
Ex-New York City winger Gary Mackay-Steven has returned to Scotland to join Hearts. The 30-year-old has joined the Scottish Championship side on a two-year deal, as per a report by BBC Sport.
Mackay-Steven, who is a Scotland international, left NYCFC at the end of the 2020 season and they opted against extending his contract. He has since weighed up his options and has decided to return home. Hearts are currently top of the league after winning eight of their opening 10 games of the campaign and are eyeing an immediate promotion back to the top flight.
New York City signed Mackay-Steven in June 2019 on a free transfer and he went on to play 37 games for them over two MLS seasons, chipping in with three goals altogether. He has now ended his time in America and will be looking forward to a new chapter in his career.
Mackay-Steven is no stranger to playing in Scotland. He made his name at Dundee United and impressed with the Terrors to earn a move to current champions Celtic in 2015. He spent two years with the Glasgow giants and helped them win the league title and cup twice.
He then left Celtic for Aberdeen and had two seasons with the Dons. The wide man made 72 appearances for Derek McInnes’ side in all competitions and scored 16 goals before deciding to move to MLS.
Mackay-Steven may feel he could have done more with NYCFC and might not have scored as many goals as he would have liked. Nevertheless, he still gave them a decent outlet out wide over the past two years and his pace caused problems for MLS defences. He has experience playing in another country and will be itching to get in on some action in Scotland now.