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Malachi Boateng joined Heart of Midlothian from Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee in time to make his debut against Rangers – and potential signing Andres Salazar was watching from the Tynecastle stand.<\/b><\/p>\n
Boateng, the 22-year-old defensive midfielder who was on loan to Dundee last season, has agreed a three-year deal with the Scottish Premiership club.<\/p>\n
His signing was announced in the morning before he took his place on the bench and came on as a late substitute in Saturday’s goalless Scottish Premiership opener.<\/p>\n
London-born Boateng has previous experience in Scotland after a loan spell with Queen’s Park before making 36 appearances for Dundee.<\/p>\n
Head coach Steven Naismith told the club website: “In Malachi, we\u2019ve got a strong, athletic, ball-winning and ball-playing midfielder.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019ve done the bulk of our recruitment early, but we\u2019re always assessing our differing requirements and, with a couple of players out through injury, it\u2019s pushed us to act swiftly.”<\/p>\n
Indeed, when asked whether Salazar, the 21-year-old currently with Atletico Nacional and who has one senior cap for Colombia, was at Saturday’s game, Naismith replied: “I think he was, so we’ll see how that develops in the coming days.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n