The winger was pushed down the pecking order in Gorgie but will now officially depart
Gary Mackay-Steven is on the lookout for a new club this summer after Hearts confirmed he’d be leaving at the end of the season.
The winger, 32, has struggled seriously for minutes this season under both Robbie Neilson and then Steven Naismith while also nursing an injury at times which has limited him further. He has made just six appearances this campaign and must be wondering what could come next.
GMS has experience at the highest level with Celtic and has proven himself abroad in the MLS with New York City in recent seasons and that could potentially be his next strategy to head off into the sunset in the states for a last hurrah and a decent salary before calling it quits down the line.
Here we’ve put together a list of seven possible destinations for the Thurso man as he weighs up his next options.
McDiarmid Park seems to be the perfect place for older players to go and prove wrong those who feel they might be on the decline.
The likes of Nicky Clark, Ryan McGowan, Graham Carey, Jamie Murphy and Andy Considine are testament to that.
New incoming permanent boss Steven MacLean may feel the experienced Mackay-Steven could perhaps provide the spark that has been missing and seen Saints slump to ninth, albeit they’re safe.
The obligatory link to Scott Brown down south!
The pair of course did play together at Celtic for a few seasons and a creative outlet is always a hot commodity. At 32 GMS could be ready to challenge himself in England and a switch to League One might suit his style and pace at the moment.
Still has plenty to give and a motivator like Brown could wring that out of him.
The newly promoted Premiership side will be on the lookout for bonafide top division calibre players and Mackay-Steven is that.
Whoever the new manager will be will likely have a say in who comes in and Gordon Strachan will know the player, too.
For the winger it will simply be about playing time and if he fancies staying in Scotland, Dens Park could be an option.
Dingwall might still be 100 miles from his hometown of Thurso, but it’s certainly a lot closer than Edinburgh.
If the 32-year-old old wants to be closer to home at this stage of his career, Ross County would be the closest solution.
When you add in the fact he was in their academy as a kid before moving to Liverpool, a fairytale return could be on the cards.
Another manager who likes to sign proven players is Derek McInnes.
The pair also worked together, with decent success, at Aberdeen and that’s arguably the last time we seen Mackay-Steven at the top of his game in Scotland.
He might feel that a reunion with his former boss is what’s needed to try and recapture that, while Killie are another side in need of additions and a bit of creativity.
As mentioned already, the MLS is a strong league now for players to see out their careers.
Mackay-Steven has played there before with NYCFC to some success and he understands the lifestyle out there. The player will be a known name in the US and with old pal Johnny Russell starring for KC he could be willing to whisper GMS’ name to the club hierarchy to coax them into bringing him over.
With United set to drop into the Championship, that could be the major sticking point. But you’d expect them to be forced into releasing some of their key players from this term to free up some cash and balance the books.
Again GMS will only be looking for first-team football and he may be willing to drop with them.
Has played there before, of course, and made his name at Tannadice.