Andrew McKinlay believes Hearts could soon become serious title contenders as they negotiate a deal with Brighton owner Tony Bloom.
The Tynecastle club has endured a disastrous start to the season, sitting bottom of the Scottish Premiership with just two points from eight matches.
Last week, manager Steven Naismith paid the price for the team’s poor form with his job, and Hearts are currently without a permanent boss.
However, the club is already working behind the scenes with Bloom’s company, Jamestown Analytics, in their search for Naismith’s successor.
Should a £10million investment be finalised, Hearts will also use the company’s expertise to help identify potential player signings.
This partnership is set to transform the club’s transfer strategy, giving Hearts access to the same cutting-edge analytics software that helped Bloom turn Brighton from a League One side into contenders for a Champions League place within a decade.
McKinlay, Hearts’ chief executive, is hopeful that the investment will help close the gap on Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers, positioning the Jambos as a genuine threat to the Old Firm’s dominance.
McKinlay said: “I’ve always struggled to think how you do that, challenge Celtic and Rangers, from a financial perspective – unless something goes wrong with one of the other two, then that’s a different thing.
“You are constantly looking for something that can allow you to close the gap because their finances are MILES ahead. When analytics comes along as an opportunity, I genuinely see it as a chance to use it properly.
“We should get a standard of player that allows us to close that gap and genuinely, at some point, challenge – whether it’s second place or maybe in time it would be lovely to be right up there.”
McKinlay is convinced that analytics could be the key to turning Hearts into regular title challengers.
He believes the use of advanced data could eventually help them compete not only for second place but perhaps even for the top spot, adding that more competition at the top of Scottish football would benefit the game as a whole.
“It would be brilliant for Scottish football,” he continued.
“Whether it’s Hearts or someone else, we’re all dying to have more than two teams every year who can win the league. I see this as a genuine opportunity to do that.
“The analytics doesn’t just do recruitment. It can be very helpful with opposition analysis. We do a lot of that ourselves already. But this adds another layer to these sorts of things. We’re always looking at that investment piece ahead as to what it looks like.”