Exclusive:Hearts set for contract talks with Harry Milne and several other key players
Exclusive: Hearts set for contract talks with Harry Milne and several other key players.
Hearts will begin contract talks with a number of key players in the coming weeks as the club seeks to protect the core of its first-team squad.
Defender Harry Milne is in the final year of his contract and will be among the first to be invited to discuss his future.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon, defenders Frankie Kent and Craig Halkett, midfielders Beni Baningime and Cammy Devlin, and winger Alan Forrest all have contracts that will expire next summer.
One of the top priorities at Tynecastle Park this month is the transfer window, as Hearts look to sign a new custodian and move some players out to trim their squad.
Once the window closes on September 1st, there will be discussions about new contracts for established players. Milne entered that category this season thanks to dominant performances, goals, and assists at left-back.
He filled the void left by James Penrice’s £2 million move to AEK Athens and started the new season in fine form. He joined Hearts from Partick Thistle in January on an 18-month contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season.
The Edinburgh club have a clause in the agreement allowing them to extend it, and they are certain to do so.
“Yes, I think it’s important for Harry at the minute,” the Hearts head coach Derek McInnes told the Edinburgh News. “He’s obviously been in the building a while now.
He’s had to wait patiently because of the performances of James, but we always believed in him. The club believed before I came in, and I believed when I saw Harry, that he had the ability and the game to play here.
Transfer talks to sign EFL player
Hearts will also speak with centre-back Stuart Findlay, whose loan contract with parent club Oxford United expires next summer.
He is slated for a permanent relocation to Gorgie as one of McInnes’ trusted lieutenants.
Milne recently expressed his desire to extend his stay with Hearts after moving from Thistle a few months ago.
“It’s something you are aware of and you have to discuss with your family about what you want to do,” according to him.
“If the opportunity arises, I’d like to stay here for an extended period of time.”
“This is a fantastic club.
You would enjoy staying here because of the amenities, fans, expectations, and location. If that opportunity arises, I will undoubtedly want to stay.
If the club wants to, they can extend the contract. I can say the ball is in their court, but it’s more likely in mine because it’s up to me to deliver on the pitch.
I need to improve my consistency and demonstrate that I am a Hearts player moving forward.”
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