Mark Atkinson talks through what to expect from Hearts in the January transfer window.
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00:00Hello, it's Mark Atkinson here, Sports Editor of the Scotsman, talking to you today about
00:07Hearts' transfer window opportunities and activity in January. The Jambos are expected
00:14to be pretty active this month given that they sit 11th, second bottom in the Premiership
00:20and are struggling under current head coach Neil Critchley. Of course, Critchley is working
00:26with an inherited squad. He came in in October after the sacking of Steven Naismith and while
00:30he got a little bit of a tune out of some players, it's fair to say that Hearts are
00:34in need of reinforcements and with that in mind, they will be active with the help of
00:40Jamestown Analytics, the database for players pioneered by Tony Bloom, the Brighton owner.
00:45Now Hearts have got an agreement in place with Jamestown to use that data and one would
00:52expect quite a few arrivals from that information that's available to them. The first one almost
00:59certainly is going to be Elton Gabondu, a Belgian forward, 26-year-old, currently plays
01:05for Union Saint-Gilois in the Jupiler Pro League. Now USG are actually part of Tony
01:12Bloom's Jamestown stable and have been very successful since making that move a few years
01:19ago. He played Rangers in Europe not that long ago and they're currently in the Europa
01:25League, a very good side actually. Gabondu hasn't really featured this season, he was
01:31part of the squad last year. He's only played seven times but he's a 26-year-old, quite
01:34a pacey, powerful forward who can play either out wide or as a number nine and one would
01:41expect that deal to be concluded imminently. Apparently Hearts are well down the line in
01:45terms of talks with Gabondu, USG and his representatives. That would obviously alleviate
01:51some of the burden on Lauren Shankland, the Hearts talisman who has simply failed to fire
01:56this term and indeed 17-year-old striker James Wilson who has scored five goals this term
02:00but given his callowness you can't really even allow him to lead the line long term
02:06at this stage of his career. Other forwards such as Kenneth Vargas, Alan Forrest, Moussa
02:12Drama and Liam Boyce haven't really been able to make an impact this term so while
02:16Gabondu would come in you'd expect more reinforcements in the forward areas. At the other end of
02:21the pitch I would expect Hearts to be active as well, partly because they have serious
02:25injuries to Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley, two of their most experienced and informed
02:29defenders. They've been operating without those two for much of December. There's also
02:35been some suggestion that Kai Rowles, the Australian centre-half, is being monitored
02:39by clubs back in Australia and across Europe. In any case, I would expect Hearts to strengthen
02:45on at least two new defenders, a centre-half and potentially a right-sided defender given
02:50that it's the young Adam Forrester and also Daniel Oyegoke who are the main options at
02:59the right-hand side of defence. In terms of players leaving, Hearts do have a couple of
03:05senior players that haven't really featured much under Neil Critchley. George Grant, Liam
03:10Boyce and Barry McKay would fall into that category. All three are out of contract at
03:14the end of the season and moving them on would free up some space in the squad. The return
03:20of Callum Newvenhoff, an Australian midfielder who's not featured at all this year due to
03:23injury, would be like a new signing for Critchley. There has been some suggestion as well that
03:28they're targeting Kilmarnock winger Danny Armstrong who's out of contract at the end
03:32of the year and was one of Killie's best players last season when they finished fourth
03:37in the league. But given they have got Jamestown Analytics to work with, one can expect some
03:43players to come in from parts of the world that Hearts haven't tapped into in the past.
03:48Wherever they get their players this January, they must improve their squad sufficiently
03:53to pull away firstly from relegations and try and get involved in a battle of the top
03:57six. Remember, Hearts finished third last season and their fall from grace has caused
04:02much consternation among their fanbase who plan a protest on January 2nd ahead of the
04:08Motherwell match. Let's see if they have any players in entitlement for that game at Pancast.