The case for Sammy Silvera: Interview provides an insight into a Hearts signing target with multiple talents

Sammy Silvera’s profile depicts a promising winger who has developed and matured considerably over the last 12 months. Hearts’ interest in the Central Coast Mariners player, who was born in London, is no surprise given their recent penchant for signing Australians.

Silvera, 22, is seen by Tynecastle management as someone who can add pace and panache to their forward line. A goal in Australia’s A-League Grand Final as the Mariners swamped Melbourne City 6-1 on June 3 was a fitting end to a productive year. He is contracted to the Gosford club until 2025 and Hearts would need to pay a six-figure fee to lure him to Edinburgh.

If they can continue harnessing his potential, it could be money well spent. Silvera is very much a confidence player; a creative maverick-type; someone who needs to feel the belief of coaches and team-mates to perform at his best. He left the Mariners for Pacos de Ferreira in 2020 but injury hindered his time in Portugal. A loan move to Newcastle Jets in 2021 brought him back home before CC Mariners signed him again last summer.

Head coach Nick Montgomery and his Portuguese assistant, Sergio Raimundo, deserve enormous credit for Silvera’s rejuvenation last season. Not only did they rebuild his confidence, they allowed him licence to attack and be incisive in the final third. Crucially, they also worked to enhance his game and hone him into an all-encompassing wide player.

A mid-season interview given by Silvera illustrated his rediscovered confidence in New South Wales. He spoke to KeepUp.com.au – a website run by the Australian A-League which profiles the country’s football both domestically and abroad – and took the opportunity to emphasise how the Mariners coaching staff influenced his improved performance.

“I think coming back to the Coast has been honestly life-changing in a way,” said the winger. “Just being present and happy has really made my football go to another level. I know I’ve got so much to learn. With the right confidence that Monty and Sergio are giving me, it’s bringing it out of me more and more.

“The way I’ve talked to Monty about when I play, obviously I’ve got to do my defensive work. That’s been really big since pre-season. That’s something I’ve had to learn and do a lot better at. But then, in attack, it’s also having a bit of freedom. He knows the quality I have when I can get on the front foot, so he kind of just lets me go and says: ‘You do what you want.’

“When it’s time to work for the team and do the defensive work, I’ve got to do that. So, again, I’m learning that and I’m understanding that role more and more. That’s part of my game that I do need to really work on and I’m doing that. I’m happy about the progress I’ve made.”

Maintaining that tactical and positional discipline will be vital should any prospective move to Scotland transpire. Silvera would not be able to merely focus on attacking attributes in the cinch Premiership any more than the A-League. If anything, the defensive duties and demands are even greater here.

Hearts feel he might be a project worth taking on. After releasing Gary Mackay-Steven, and with Josh Ginnelly yet to sign a contract extension, they need to add pace and invention to their forward line ahead of season 2023/24. Players report back to Riccarton this week before flying out to Spain on Friday for a seven-day training camp.

New signings will filter in over the coming weeks and, if negotiations with Hearts and CC Mariners progress, Silvera might be one of them. Another chance in Europe is something which should spark motivation within the player after his ill-fated stint in Portuguese football.

Joining Pacos de Ferreira from the Mariners three years ago presented the then-19-year-old with a huge opportunity in the first foreign move of his career. He arrived in the Porto district with considerable hope, however what awaited him 11,000 miles from home was upset and frustration. Injury struck in his early weeks, then came loan moves to lower-division Portuguese sides Casa Pia and Sanjoanense. In August 2021, Silvera returned to Australia in another loan deal with Newcastle Jets – CC Mariners’ biggest rivals.

He rejoined the Mariners last year having learned from some of football’s unfortunate pitfalls. “I was over the moon about that opportunity [at Pacos de Ferreira],” said Silvera. “Going in the first day and meeting all the players who are playing at a top level, again it’s nervous. Having to go there and try to adapt with the style of football, the language was even more difficult. Football was again the hardest and it was trying to understand that style.

“I got injured in the first game I played over there. That put me out for four months and it meant a four-month delay of me trying to adapt to the football. It’s football and it happens with injury, but when I came back it almost felt like I was rushed. I was trying to always get to somewhere, I was being impatient.

“I didn’t know when to just sit back, relax and just take it how it was and take my time with it. That’s the one thing I’ve learned from being over there. I can’t rush things because, mentally, that’s not what makes you happy. If you’re just present and you’re happy, then it will work out for you. When I was there, I didn’t know that. I was always trying to push for something that wasn’t right.”