RYAN EDWARDS insists the success fellow SPFL exports Liam Boyce, David Templeton and Scott Fraser sold him on a switch to Burton Albion.
Edwards, 25, has penned a two-year deal with the Brewers after Hearts allowed him to annul his deal, which was due to run until 2020, in order to make the switch south.
The Jambos will, however, bank a substantial sell-on fee for the combative midfielder should he land another transfer.
Edwards will link up with a swathe of familiar faces at the Pirelli Stadium – most notably another former Hearts favourite Templeton, Ross County old boy Boyce and ex-Dundee United playmaker Fraser.
He is also firm friends with fellow Australian Jackson Irvine, who joined Burton from the Dingwall club in 2016 and, following one spectacular season, used it as a springboard to land a big-money move to Hull City.
Edwards told Burton’s official website: “I played against David, Scott and Liam and it’s fantastic to see how well they have done in the English Football League.
“They were all players who – when you looked at the team-sheet – you’d say: ‘Oh no, we are playing against them today!’
“It’s pleasing for me that I’m on their side now – rather than the opposition.
“I know what good players they are and I’ll be getting know them better, just as I will with the rest of the boys. I’m excited to get settled in.
“I’m mates with Jackson Irvine as well so I know that players have come here from Scotland and done really well and help the club contribute to its success. That’s the aim.”
Edwards departure comes just two months after he found the net in Hearts narrow Scottish Cup final defeat against Celtic which capped a roller-coaster campaign for the Jambos.
A signing from Partick Thistle last summer, he was swiftly deemed surplus to requirements and farmed out on loan to St Mirren.
Even when he returned to Tynecastle in January, he had to wait until the end of April before even making his debut for the club – before a blockbuster impact during the run-in.
