Hearts boss hoping Elton Kabangu will be cleared to make debut at Aberdeen

Neil Critchley is hopeful that Elton Kabangu will be able to make his Hearts debut away to Aberdeen on Sunday after paperwork was not signed off in time for the new striker to feature in either of the last two matches.

The 26-year-old Belgian signed for the Edinburgh club on New Year’s Day on a loan deal from Union Saint-Gilloise until the end of the season.

However, Kabangu is still awaiting his work permit and, as a result, has had to sit out the Jambos’ back-to-back 1-0 wins over top-six pair Motherwell and Dundee United in recent days.

Critchley is eager to be able to add the newly-recruited forward to his match-day squad for the trip to Pittodrie.

“It’s a big frustration,” said the Jambos head coach. “The Home Office, they must be having a good Christmas or something so we’ve not been able to get that over the line yet.

“Hopefully in the next 24-48 hours they’ll be back in work after Christmas and we can get that sorted.

“He’s desperate to get going and we want to see him out there on the pitch and he’ll bring something different to us definitely.”

Critchley, who handed former Rotherham and St Johnstone defender Jamie McCart his debut as a late substitute against United on Sunday, has not ruled out the possibility of Barrie McKay and Yutaro Oda moving on this month.

They have been notable absentees from Critchley’s match-day squads recently despite being available for selection.

“We’ll see,” he said when asked about the future of the attacking duo. “Some players obviously when they’re not in the squad and they want to play football, January’s open so it does give that option.

“But I think if you look at Jorge Grant and Liam Boyce, they’ve been out of the team and then they get an opportunity to play, so I wouldn’t rule anything in, but I won’t rule anything out either.”

Critchley praised James Penrice after the marauding left-back scored the only goal at Tannadice on Sunday to secure a fourth win in seven William Hill Premiership matches for Hearts, who are now eight points clear of last-placed St Johnstone.

“I think Penners has been outstanding,” said the head coach. “I just love the way he plays football. I think he has a great mentality. He wants to learn, wants to get better, plays with real drive and energy.

“The amount of crosses he got in in the first half from really good positions and then for him to score the winning goal, it was a great strike and fully deserved for him and the team.”