Who do Hearts have on their January transfer list? | Hearts Digest Podcast - video Dailymotion

Edinburgh Evening News

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00:00Hello and welcome to the Hearts Digest with Edinburgh Evening News club correspondent Barry Anderson, and I'm your host Martin Simpson.

00:08So let's start off with the Monday Hearts transfer bulletin.

00:12Barry, obvious one to start off with is it looks like Hearts have not only identified the striker that they're going to bring in,

00:19but that the deal's pretty much about, what, 75-80% done, if not a bit more.

00:25That man's Elton Kabangu coming on loan from Union Saint-Gilles in Belgium.

00:33Tell us a bit more about him and how far along that deal is.

00:38Yes, quite close at the moment.

00:41I believe he's agreed, verbally agreed terms for the move.

00:45Hearts are pushing to try and get all the paperwork done and get him over here ASAP

00:50so that he can be registered and be in the squad for Thursday's game against Marlborough at Tyne Castle.

00:57There's no kind of obvious reason at the moment why that wouldn't happen.

01:01I think both clubs are happy for the deal to take place.

01:03And as I said, Kabangu is in a position where he's ready to go.

01:08So it's pretty much all the green lights so far.

01:11Obviously, until everything's signed and sealed, then you can never say never.

01:16Looking positive for Hearts and certainly a player that they would want to get in and get involved

01:21and try and boost their squad a little bit as they try and get results to take them away from the bottom of the league.

01:30Obviously, fans won't know a whole lot about him.

01:32But on paper, his statistics aren't anything to get overly excited about.

01:39He had a decent run of scoring with Willem II over in the Netherlands.

01:48I'm not actually sure, would that be the Dutch Eredivisie or the second tier?

01:53I feel like they're a club that maybe float between the two.

01:56Either way, he's since moved on to Union in Belgium.

02:02Obviously, the links there through Tony Bloom, they're another of the clubs he's involved with.

02:08He's been there since 2023 and he's struggled for regular game time.

02:11No shame in that.

02:12Obviously, Union are a very good club competing generally at the right end of the Belgian top flight.

02:18We've obviously seen them in the Champions League against Rangers in recent seasons.

02:22But yes, his goal-scoring record isn't anything to get too excited about, really.

02:28So what do you think, from what you know or what you've maybe heard about him,

02:32that might be the reason Hearts are looking to bring him in?

02:38He's not a world-beater, let's be honest.

02:41If he was a world-beater, he wouldn't be coming to Scotland.

02:45The way the Jamestown model works, it's a lot about identifying players

02:50who can come in with a bit of potential to improve and do a job while they're with a club

02:56and then potentially move on.

02:59This move will either get Kabangu's career going again

03:04and potentially maybe lead to a permanent move to Hearts, if all three parties desire.

03:10Or it gets him going again and he goes back to Union, Saint-Gilles,

03:13and makes an impact there next season after the loan finishes in the summer.

03:19I think there's not much of a risk for Hearts.

03:23The move to Belgium hasn't really worked out for him.

03:27As you say, he was extremely good stats at Billemtwee.

03:33At that point, he was a pretty sought-after striker.

03:37He's got a bit of a physical presence.

03:40He's quick. He'll dart into spaces.

03:43His movement in and around the penalty area is good.

03:45He'll run in behind defences and he's got a bit of an eye for goals.

03:50Quite a lot of attributes in there that you would say Hearts need right at this minute.

03:54He also gives them another option at centre-forward instead of James Wilson

04:00because I think Hearts are conscious of not playing Wilson week in and week out.

04:04I'm not suggesting that he should be left out of the team right at this minute

04:07because he's by far, in a way, their most potent forward.

04:11But if you're relying on him for 90 minutes week in and week out

04:14right through to the end of the season, that's going to have an impact on his development,

04:17possibly his mentality and his confidence at different times when you're fighting relegation.

04:23They certainly need reinforcements in that position and Kabangu gives them that.

04:27Just a couple of things on that.

04:29First of all, it's great that you seem to know how to pronounce every European team name under the sun.

04:35It gives us a bit of credibility as I sit here and butcher them, so apologies for that.

04:40You mentioned potential, but he's 26 years old and in February he'll be 27,

04:45so he's very much in what you would call the prime of his career.

04:49Also, you're suggesting that Hearts are going to play him as an out-and-out centre-forward

04:53where, from what I've read, he's more of a, not a winger,

04:56but certainly an inside, wide-forward type of player.

05:01Do you think maybe this will be the only...?

05:05If he is the centre-forward that Hearts are going for,

05:08we don't expect to see another centre-forward coming in

05:12unless something happens to move Lawrence Shankland on,

05:15which, as we understand, isn't happening right now.

05:18But would Hearts then still be looking for another wide-forward

05:22or do you think Kabangu is the wide-forward and there'll be an out-and-out centre-forward to come?

05:28No, I think Kabangu is the centre-forward.

05:30He is mainly a central striker, although he can play wide and has played wide in the past.

05:35Most of his career has been spent as a central striker

05:38and that's what Hearts are signing him for.

05:42In terms of potential, when I mentioned that,

05:44I mean, I'm talking about that he's clearly got the potential to,

05:48if he gets a move to Hearts or wherever it was,

05:52he would then have the potential to get his career going again

05:56and get himself back to a level where he could go back to Union, St. Giova

06:00and make an impact there, or whether there's a permanent move to Hearts

06:04or whether someone else comes in.

06:05That's the kind of potential that Jamestown Analytics will look at,

06:09not necessarily a 19-year-old with the potential to become a superstar

06:13by the time he's 23, 24.

06:15They'll look at maybe smaller segments of potential within a player's career,

06:19i.e. somebody who's just lost their way a little bit and needs a move

06:22to get them going again.

06:23I think that's the situation Kabangu is in and why Hearts would then come to the table.

06:33Well, another transfer story that the Edinburgh Evening News broke this week

06:38actually concerning Hearts' Edinburgh rivals, Hibs,

06:42who apparently are interested in signing Xander Clarke

06:45when his Hearts contract expires.

06:47Tell us a bit more about that situation, Barry.

06:50Obviously, we know Xander Clarke.

06:52I don't think you would need to be an insider in Hearts to know

06:55that he's probably frustrated sitting on the bench at Tyne Castle,

06:58losing his place in the Scotland set-up.

07:01Just tell us a bit more there.

07:03Is the chance of him signing a new deal at Hearts?

07:06Where are we with that, and how likely do you think a move to Hibs could be?

07:13Yeah, he's on a list.

07:15Hibs have got quite a long list, as most clubs do at this time of the season.

07:19They'll have a long list of players that are coming out of contract

07:21that they would potentially look at towards bringing in for next season.

07:26Xander Clarke is on that list for Hibs at the moment.

07:29They haven't made any official move that we're aware of,

07:32and he's available, obviously, to discuss three contracts

07:36with new clubs come the 1st of January.

07:40It's quite a fluid situation. Hearts would like him to stay.

07:44Neil Critchley has already spoken to him initially about that.

07:48They want to try and keep Xander Clarke and Greg Gordon for next season.

07:52But Xander's not playing.

07:54You've already mentioned he's been on the bench most of the season,

07:57hasn't played competitively since August,

07:59lost his place in the Scotland squad, etc.

08:01So he simply needs to get playing again.

08:04If Hearts are going to give him opportunities to do that,

08:06then I think he would stay.

08:08Because he's prepared to fight for his place

08:11if he's going to get a sniff of first-team football

08:15and prove himself in that sense.

08:17But if that's not coming, then he's 32.

08:20He's at an age where sitting on the bench is no good to him.

08:22So whether it was Hibs or someone else that was to come in,

08:26Hibs would make sense for him.

08:28In a lot of ways, they clearly need an established number one for next season.

08:33They're looking at Cameron Dawson from Rotherham to come in in January.

08:38And compete for the goal, keeping place towards the end of the season.

08:40Xander Clark would be seen.

08:42If they were to move for Xander Clark,

08:44it would be with the potential for him being number one at Easter Road

08:48from next season onwards.

08:50So there's still a lot of mileage in this, and it's got a long way to go.

08:53But the fact that he's on their radar suggests that he'll have an option,

08:59at least one option, probably more than that,

09:01come the end of the season, should he decide that he's going to leave Hearts.

09:05You feel like he's going to have so many options,

09:07and obviously this isn't intended as a dig at Hibs in any way,

09:10but you don't feel like you'd want to be the player that lets your Hearts contract

09:16run down and then moves to the rivals.

09:18That's just going to...

09:19Like when the Derby comes around and you're a keeper at Tyne Castle,

09:22so close to the fans.

09:24Look, obviously he's a professional, and these things don't consider him,

09:27but it's probably not the kind of move I would want to make personally.

09:30But I'm not a professional footballer.

09:34Yeah, I don't think that'll phase him too much.

09:36If he was to go down that route, I think he would be more content

09:43with the chance to play regular first-team football

09:45and then push towards getting back in the Scotland squad.

09:48That's going to be his aim.

09:49Whatever he does next season, whether it's stay at Hearts or go elsewhere,

09:52that's got to be his number one priority, is playing regularly

09:55and trying to get his club career going again,

09:58and on the back of that, his international career.

10:02He's a good goalkeeper, Alexander Clarke.

10:04Everybody would agree that Alexander Clarke is too good

10:06to sit on a bench in Scottish Premiership.

10:08He should be playing for somebody somewhere.

10:13I think the next few weeks will be quite telling in that.

Who do Hearts have on their January transfer list? | Hearts Digest Podcast

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