Hearts buy Austrian centre-half Steinwender
Michael Steinwender suffered relegation from Austria's top flight with St Polten
- Published
Austrian centre-half Michael Steinwender has joined Heart of Midlothian from Varnamo for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old, who has signed a contract until summer 2028, previously played for Mattersburg and St Polten before moving to Sweden's top flight from Hartburg in his homeland last summer.
Steinwender made 20 appearances, starting all but one of them, for Varnamo as they finished 14th in the 2024 Allsvenskan and avoided relegation by winning a play-off.
Head coach Neil Critchley told the Edinburgh club's website: "It's taken a lot of hard work from everyone at the club these past few months to bring him to Hearts.
"He is someone we have identified that we believe has all the attributes to be a success in the Scottish Premiership and in Europe.
"He already has several seasons of experience in Austria and Sweden and, at the age of 24, he has the potential to develop further in his career."
Steinwender follows fellow centre-half Jamie McCart, signed from Rotherham United, and on-loan Union Saint-Gilloise winger Elton Kabangu in joining Hearts in January.
