Last summer at Hearts was about strengthening for the top flight.
A comfortable third place finish, a Scottish Cup final run and qualification is evidence they did it very well.
This year, Europe is top of the agenda.
Robbie Neilson's team will be in the group stages either way, be it in the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
A busier schedule will put extra strain on a squad that wasn’t the biggest last year, despite being relatively strong across the board.
The defence has been bolstered by the arrivals of Australian Kye Rowles and Lewis Neilson, while Alan Forrest offers an extra option in the wide areas.
Midfield and up front are now Neilson's focus, with and out-and-out number nine the priority along with more creative forwards.
Record Sport lays out the current state of play ahead of the Jambos’ return to pre-season training.
Ellis Simms
The Everton striker provided something very different to Liam Boyce after arriving on loan from Goodison last January.
But the pair worked well together, and Neilson is desperate to get Simms back for next season.
However, he;’s played down Hearts’ chances with plenty of interest from the English Championship.
He hasn't ruled it out though, and as far as fans are concerned, no news is good news at this stage as the front man weighs up his options.
Familiarity could give Hearts an advantage as Simms knows what he's getting into at Tynecastle. The carrot of European football is another.
But money talks and Everton will likely prioritise a club who can pay most or all of Simms’ hefty wage over the player getting European experience.
One to keep an eye on, and the sense is that the longer it goes without Simms agreeing a switch down south, the better for the capital club.
Lawrence Shankland
The striker seems to get linked with a move to Tynecastle every window.
However, if it's going to happen, this might be the time.
Shankland ’s move to Belgium from Dundee United hasn’t been the success he’d hoped, ending in relegation for Beerschot.
Sporting director Joe Savage refused to deny the club were interested, and with Neilson, Lee McCuulloch and Gordon Forrest in the Tynecastle dugout, there’s a management team in place Shankland knows well and has worked with before.
However, Beerschot will likely want some sort of return on the £1m they spent to sign him from Tannadice, and Shankland’s wages will be a factor - i.e. significantly more than United had to agree to when bringing him in from Ayr United.
A deal on paper that makes sense, even if Shankland has so far enjoyed mixed fortunes in the Scottish top flight, but only if the maths make sense financially.
Jorge Grant
The Jambos are reportedly interested in the Peterborough United midfielder as Neilson seeks more attacking options for the middle of the park.
However, Posh have slapped a £750,000 asking price on his head, which will likely see Hearts move on to other targets, especially with Aaron McEneff already in the building.
It might be one that is revisited later in the window, but the fee would have to be lowered significantly.
Connor Ronan
The St Mirren midfielder has been linked with Hearts since before the end of last season
He returned to Wolves after his loan spell in Paisley ended, but again, asking price is a stumbling block as things stand.
The Molineux club are thought to be holding out for around £500,000.
The Tynecastle club will bank around that after Australia qualified for the World Club. If Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson and Cammy Devlin are all called up for Qatar, then Hearts will bank close to half-a-million.
But that’s a long way off and not guaranteed, so can;t be relied upon to boost the transfer budget now.
A loan move with an option to buy would make more sense for Ronan form the club’s perspective, but whether Wolves are willing to play ball over such an agreement remains to be seen.
