Calum Elliot was overlooked at Hearts

Elliot had been told he was surplus to requirements at Hearts but Motherwell manager Maurice Malpas intends to make the most of the 19-year-old's skills.

Malpas said: "We are delighted Calum is coming on loan. He is a different type of player than we have at the moment.

"He is a handful for defenders and we hope he scores goals. It is beneficial for him if he is playing regularly."

Both Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic had also wanted Elliot on loan.

The striker had pleaded publicly for a chance to prove himself good enough for a first-team start at Tynecastle.

I thought I deserved to be given a chance like everybody else Calum Elliot

"If you're not given a chance, you can't show what you can do," he said. "I need to prove myself on loan.

"I saw a newspaper article which said Hearts didn't see me as a first-team player and that is disappointing because I see myself as a first-team player at Hearts.

"It wasn't a shock, because I wasn't featuring, but I thought I deserved to be given a chance like everybody else."

Now Jim Hamilton could be set to leave Motherwell for Dunfermline and a second spell at East End Park, having spent four months there in 2003 after signing as an amateur to overcome transfer window rules.

The 30-year-old has been with Motherwell since leaving Livingston in January 2005.

Dunfermline manager Jim Leishman last week decided not to follow up his interest in two strikers training with the club: Cedric Nana, from Cameroon, and Frenchman Michael Marques.