\n The 23-year-old had to be patient after joining when Derek McInnes<\/a>\u2019 side flew out of the traps. The 4-4-2 shape and the form of Cammy Devlin<\/a> and Beni Baningime<\/a> meant that starts were difficult to come by.\n<\/p>\n \n As the season progressed, there were more opportunities and Magnusson established himself as an important squad member, playing different midfield roles.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n His season was ended prematurely, though not by the cheekbone fracture he sustained at Rugby Park. Magnusson says he was lucky the impact was where it was. A few centimetres’ difference would have threatened to end his season.\n<\/p>\n \n A mask was ordered, something he has had to wear before, and the rangy midfielder was preparing for a subsequent fixture when he felt his thigh go in a training session.\n<\/p>\n \n “I broke my cheekbone, did nothing for a week, got my mask, trained three times,\u201d Magnusson tells Hearts Standard.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cAnd then it was just the third session we had a shooting practice after the game and the first shot with the left foot, just a pop.\n<\/p>\n \n “The cheek fracture was a broken bone, but it was in a good spot. If it would have been like underneath the eye it would have been more serious, but it was round by the ear.\n<\/p>\n \n “So, no I was I was quite happy but obviously then the bloody thigh went.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI’ve got the mask on standby now. It’s back home and I’ll probably get another head knock in the future, so it’ll just be ready.”\n<\/p>\n \n Just like other 2025\/26 recruits, the best could be yet to come for Magnusson and there is excitement about how the likes of he, Jordi Altena and Landry Kabore, among others, will perform under a new head coach.\n<\/p>\n \n Wouter Vrancken is in a race against time to have his side prepared for next week\u2019s game<\/a> in Graz.\n<\/p>\n \n There are at least a handful of players expected to start and a few positions still up in the air. The area of the field with the most question marks, however, is central midfield. Not only is there competition for places, Hearts are looking to strengthen that area<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n \n Going by the recent friendlies, Magnusson is one of the options to play one of the two deeper midfield roles and feels a year adapting to the Scottish game will serve him well for the upcoming campaign.\n<\/p>\n \n “I had to wait, be patient. And once I got my chance, I think I used it quite well. Off the bench or when I was starting, but now I think I’ve gotten to know the league a bit more,\u201d he says of last season.\n<\/p>\n \n “The Scottish game, it’s different and I think it’ll only help me in the coming season.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt’s more back and forth. Like I thought it was really fit back home. I was running more than most, but then here I was just out of breath for the first game.\n<\/p>\n \n “It’s something different, but nothing I didn’t expect.”\n<\/p>\n \n Adjusting to a new league in a different country, not to mention becoming a father during last season, was difficult enough. Magnusson was also adjusting to a different role under McInnes, who preferred to use the Icelandic midfielder in an area from where he could get into the box.\n<\/p>\n \n Whether it was from the right or behind the striker, Magnusson was used further forward than he had been in his career to that point.\n<\/p>\n \n Under Vrancken, he was deployed as one of the two deeper midfielders against Livingston last Friday night.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n Asked what his best or most natural position is, Magnusson replies: “I don’t even know anymore. But I’d say of the past three years, I’d say a No.8 because I am able to run. I can get to both boxes quite quickly. So a box-to-box No.8 is I’d say is me.\n<\/p>\n \n “Always back home I played a bit of a deeper role. And those kilometres were just like covering for other lads a bit deeper, but yeah, that’s always been a part of my game. I’m a runner.\n<\/p>\n \n “I played a bit higher last season than maybe I anticipated [last season], but I think the new head coach likes a midfielder who makes deep runs. I think I can do that.\n<\/p>\n \n “But then I can also sit. So it will be interesting. He likes playing with the three, for the first week we’ve been with him and so I’m not so sure.\n<\/p>\n \n “I could see that happening, with a midfield two, one No.6, one No.8, and a No.10. Definitely maybe as a No.8 or something.”\n<\/p>\n \n Read more\n<\/p>\n \n Wherever Magnusson plays, it will be in a new-look Hearts under Vrancken. The Belgian wants his team to attack by passing it out from the back and to win the back high up the pitch.\n<\/p>\n \n It is a contrast to last season and a style Magnusson is used to from playing in Iceland.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThat’s why I’m really excited with a high-pressing game style as well. That’s what we did back home. So I’m really excited in being a box-to-box midfielder,” he explains.\n<\/p>\n \n “[Vrancken] has got a different style play to what we’ve done last season. It’s just really interesting. Myself as a player, seeing different things. It’s exciting.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThe midfielders will have to sync well with each other because it’s a lot about what he’s showing us in meetings. A lot of off-the-ball movements, creating space. So it’ll be a lot to think about in there.\u201d\n<\/p>\nMagnusson and Jordi Altena during the pre-season camp in Spain (Image: Malcolm Mackenzie)\n<\/p>\n