Heart of Midlothian

Hearts have offered Australia winger Daniel Arzani a move to Scotland as he prepares to leave Melbourne Victory. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read all of Wednesday's Scottish Gossip

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The transfer window opened on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.

Hearts have already been active this summer, signing defenders Christian Borchgrevink and Oisin McEntee, plus winger Alexandros Kyziridis and striker Elton Kabangu following his successful loan spell.

Is there still an area of the squad that needs improving, or certain players you are desperate for Hearts to sign? Or maybe holding on to a key player - we're looking at you, Lawrence Shankland - is the biggest priority.

And what about sales - who needs to go?

Let us know here

Hearts are keeping close tabs on Falkirk midfielder Brad Spencer, with the 29-year-old entering the last year of his contract with the newly-promoted Scottish Premiership club. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Tuesday's Scottish gossip.

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New signing Oisin McEntee says Hearts fans can expect to see his hard work and technical ability when he takes to the pitch.

The 24-year-old defensive midfielder has penned a three-year deal at the Gorgie club following his departure from Walsall.

The Newcastle academy product, who has played in Scotland before during a loan spell at Greenock Morton, is embracing the next step of his career at Tynecastle.

"It's really exciting to be here, starting a new chapter at a brilliant, massive football club," McEntee said.

"[The club] said they have a plan for me and want me in as a midfielder. I'm excited to be part of that plan.

"[The fans] can expect a hard worker who will win battles, put himself about and be tidy on the ball."

Derek McInnes' first competitive game as Hearts manager will be at home to Dunfermline in the Premier Sports Cup.

The game on Saturday 12 July kicks off at 17:15 BST and will be shown live on Premier Sports.

After facing Neil Lennon's side, Hearts have trips to Hamilton Accies and Stirling Albion before completing their Group E campaign against Dumbarton at Tynecastle.

Hearts are on the verge of signing defensive midfielder Oisin McEntee as the 24-year-old prepares to leave Walsall as a free agent. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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Brentford head of individual player development Steven Pressley has left the club.

The former Scotland and Hearts defender joined the Bees in 2021 and has played a role in progressing several players from the B team to Thomas Frank's squad, including Yehor Yarmoliuk, Ryan Trevitt and Paris Maghoma.

"After careful consideration, I've decided it's time for a new challenge in my career," Pressley said, external.

"I leave the club having formed some great friendships, great memories, and also being appreciative of the opportunity to work with some highly-skilled people, which has allowed me to learn and grow as a person."

Director of football Phil Giles added: ""As well as developing some of our best young players and having a meaningful impact on first-team performances in the Premier League, he's been a top professional and a pleasure to get to know as a person.

"On behalf of everyone at Brentford, I wish him well."

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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Following a promising second half of the season, Hearts have decided to make Elton Kabangu's loan stay from Union Saint-Gilloise a permanent one.

The Belgian striker was one of the first new faces in the Tynecastle club's data-driven Jamestown Analytics era, finishing the season as second top scorer with eight goals in all competitions.

That is pretty good going given the forward only signed in January and played just 18 games, but what makes his goals tally more impressive is the fact none of them came from the penalty spot.

When you compare that to forwards who have played at least 10 Scottish Premiership games this season, Kabangu's non-penalty-goals average of 0.54 per 90 ranks him in the league's top 10.

Meanwhile, the striker sits ninth for his expected goals tally of 0.5 per 90, and his shot (21%) and big chance (56%) conversion rates also place him high in the Premiership forward rankings.

When you narrow that search down to just Hearts players on a per-90 basis, Kabangu sits top for goals, expected goals and shots on target.

A goals-per-90 average of 0.54 over a 38-game season would accumulate a very healthy return of 19, so now the challenge for the 27-year-old is maintaining that form over the course of an entire campaign under new boss Derek McInnes.

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Hearts have been drawn alongside Dunfermline, Hamilton, Dumbarton and Stirling Albion in Group E of the 2025-26 Premier Sports Cup.

The tournament will mark Derek McInnes' first game in charge of the Tynecastle club, with the opening fixture on 12-13 July and further matchdays on 15-16 July, 19-20 July, 22-23 July and 26-27 July.

The eight group winners and three best runners-up will join Scotland's five European entrants - Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United - in the last 16 on the weekend of 16-17 August.

Hearts were beaten by Falkirk in the second round last season and last lifted the trophy in 1962.

Former Heart of Midlothian head coach Robbie Neilson, who has been out of work since being sacked by Tampa Bay Rowdies earlier this year, is willing to explore any opportunities to return to management. (PLZ Soccer)

Neilson says he has missed the intensity of Scottish football and is interested in the vacancies at Dundee, Motherwell and Partick Thistle. (Scottish Sun)

Hearts have held initial talks after expressing an interest in German midfielder Soufian El-Faouzi, the 22-year-old who has a year left of his contract with Bundesliga 3 club Alemannia Aachen. (Daily Record)

Hearts are on the verge of finalising a transfer deal with Tobol for Kazakhstan winger Islam Chesnokov, according to the 25-year-old's agent. (Hearts Standard)

Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.

We asked for your views on 42-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon signing a contract extension to stay at Hearts for another season.

Here's what some of you said:

Norrie: Great that he is staying. Craig will fight for his place like the other goalkeepers, up to the boss who plays.

Chris: Gordon is still one of the best keepers in the league. Those who want to see him dropped or gone - be careful what you wish for!

Kevin: No one can deny Gordon is a Hearts legend but his ship has sailed. The year before, Zander Clark had 15/16 clean sheets. Gordon's is still a great keeper but should now be a number two or play number one elsewhere.

Kyle: It's great to keep such an experienced keeper at the club but I feel he needs to step back to being the back-up keeper and sharing his knowledge with the younger ones and allow Hearts to get a new long-term number one established.

Jim: Delighted to hear that Gordon's contract has been extended for at least another season. Every so often in UK football an outstanding individual comes to the fore and in goalkeeping terms Gordon is in that outstanding category, alongside keepers like Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Jim Leighton, Pat Jennings etc, but if it wasn't for injury his career would have been even more illustrious. His reflexes seem as sharp as ever and over this season he has won us as many points through outstanding saves as any outfield player. A very good piece of football business.

Ian: I would have preferred keeping Clark as number one and bringing back either Harry Stone or Liam McFarlane from their loan deals to sit on the bench. These goalkeepers need to get game-time for Hearts not lower-league clubs. I would have given Gordon a goalkeeping coach's job but he probably wants to keep on playing.

Alistair: Yes, certainly, with Clark carrying an injury, who is better? When all are fit it should be a fair fight for the place this year though.

Steve: Sad in some ways, a club legend, but certainly on the wane. Surely he can only be the back-up keeper. Time to get one of the young goalkeepers into the first-team squad instead of being out on loan. Thanks so much Craig for your services to the club.

Peter: We are right to offer Craig a one-year contract. I would like him to be number two and let Clark resume as the number one. It would be good to use Craig as a goalkeeping coach aswell, then retain him as coach and ambassador after the one year is up.

David: Mixed thoughts for me. Gordon has been magnificent for us but presumably he will still expect to be number one next season. Clark is an excellent keeper and will he be happy to have a second season on the bench? I also question what will happen to our young keepers who have excelled while out on loan. At what stage do they become part of the senior set-up?

Moon: His achievements for clubs and country makes this a brilliant deal for the Jambos. Glad he's staying, now let's hope Lawrence Shankland does the same.

Fergus: Craig is a legend but we do not have a suitable replacement at all. I was never convinced with Clark and it appears to be proven, are we gonna end up in this scenario again next year? Derek McInnes should be looking at bringing in a new number one and have Craig as back-up or coach.

Brian: Instead of a playing deal why didn't Hearts offer him a coaching role? He's been a great keeper over the years but it's time to hand over to Clark and Ryan Fulton. Gordon hasn't been as good this season and shouldn't be getting another year as a player.

New Heart of Midlothian head coach Derek McInnes insists claims he likes to have total control of a club are simply not true and is happy to work with Jamestown Analytics in pinpointing new signings. (Herald - subscription required), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon is staying at Hearts for another season, at least.

The 42-year-old has signed a one-year extension with Derek McInnes' side.

Gordon has made over 300 appearances for the Tynecastle club across two spells and was number one in the season just ended.

Is it the right move to extend Hears legend Gordon's stay? And should he retain his spot as first choice under the new head coach?

Tell us your thoughts

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Now the final whistle has blown on a calamitous campaign for Hearts, the focus has to be on ensuring there is no repeat of those mistakes next season.

It all started brightly with an excellent performance, but no win, against Rangers on the opening day.

But as soon as the following weekend - and the shocking first-half performance at Dens Park - it became evident this season would be far from plain sailing.

That was followed up by a League Cup exit to Falkirk amid a run of eight straight losses to led to Steven Naismith being shown the door.

Neil Critchley made a promising start with wins over St Mirren and Omonia Nicosia in the Conference League. The future looked bright, but the wheels came off again soon after.

One win in nine followed along with an exit from Europe after failure to dispose of Moldovans Petrocub at Tynecastle.

And after stumbling to the split with one win in five, a bottom-six finish plus defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final to Aberdeen meant Critchley's time was up.

Lessons have to be learned from the mistakes made, not just this season but over the past two or three years.

In Derek McInnes, Hearts now have a man who knows the league inside out and, probably more importantly, knows what Hearts are all about having come up against them on many occasions.

He looked genuinely excited at the prospect of working with Jamestown Analytics. And despite many cynics still trying to figure out how it works, McInnes says he plans to use the tool to its fullest, with the first evidence the pre-contract signing of Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis.

This summer at Tynecastle will be fascinating and with new investment on the horizon from Tony Bloom, the expectation from fans will be even greater.

Elton Kabangu "is going on holiday" as Hearts and parent club Union Saint-Gilloise figure out where the forward's future lies after the 27-year-old spent the second half of the 2024-25 season on loan at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay has admitted the Edinburgh club "got it wrong" when appointing Neil Critchley as head coach and has revealed that a new contract offer has been made to 29-year-old striker Lawrence Shankland. (Sky Sports), external

Hearts sporting director Graeme Jones says contract discussions with Lawrence Shankland will have a cut-off point but says they are ongoing and he is still hopeful they will be able to retain the club captain. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Hearts are close to signing Alexandros Kyziridis, the 24-year-old Greek winger who is out of contract this summer with Zemplin Michalovce, hope to agree a deal for 25-year-old Kazakhstan forward Islam Chesnokov before his contract with Tobol ends in October, while Belgian striker Elton Kabangu's loan move from Union Saint-Gilloise is set to be made permanent for a fee in the region of £250,000. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Sporting director Graeme Jones says he and Derek McInnes will add the "human" element of decision making over new signings to make sure any players earmarked by the Jamestown Analytics talent scouting system fit the new head coach's style of play. (Daily Record), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.