Jair Tavares leaves Hibs after 'not getting enough game time'
Hibernian have confirmed that Jair Tavares has left the club by 'mutual consent'.
The Portuguese winger moved to Easter Road from Benfica in the summer of 2022 and went on to make 41 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals.
The majority of the 24-year-old's appearances came during the 2023/24 campaign, and he spent last season on loan at fellow Premiership side Motherwell.
When the departure was confirmed on Monday, head coach David Gray said: 'Jair hasn't had as much game-time as he'd have liked over the last few seasons, so it makes sense for both parties to come to this agreement.
'At 24, he still has the opportunity to develop, and we wish him nothing but the best with the next steps in his career.'
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Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Scotsman
Claudio Braga: Hearts' smiling assassin with different skills and an iconic number
Portuguese forward is relishing life at the club's pre-season training camp in Spain Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Claudio Braga's beaming smile is a conspicuous theme during Hearts' early pre-season training sessions. He is clearly enjoying life in maroon after a £400,000-plus transfer from the Norwegian club FK Aalesunds. Bounding around the pitch, an excellent command of English allows the Portuguese forward to engage in all manner of jokes and pranks with new team-mates. The aim is to settle quickly and become a smiling assassin when competitive action begins. Hearts are in Spain for a week-long training camp in temperatures touching 35 degrees. Braga grew up across the border and is used to the searing heat, but working under head coach Derek McInnes has nonetheless exhausted the 25-year-old so far. After training and playing mostly on astroturf in Norway's second tier, he is adapting to daily workouts on grass. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It has been pretty good, actually. I'm tired, very tired,' he said, still smiling. 'It's been good sessions, hard sessions, but that's how it's supposed to be in the pre-season. I think I've been settling in good in the group. It's a good group. Everybody's helping me to settle in, so I'm very happy with that. 'It's always tough to come to a new club, a new locker room, new habits, new routines. For now, it's been pretty fine. I get used to the [Scottish] weather already, so that's not the problem. The guys in the locker room are helping me a lot and all the staff have been pretty good with me. The weather in Scotland is no problem at all compared to Norway. What I heard is that it's not that different, but in the winter, I guess it's less bad. 'I think I've become almost half Norwegian! But it will be probably easier for me [in Spain] than for the other guys, because 20 years of my life, I lived with 30 degrees in the summer. Physically, if we have tough training, it will be as tough as normal. But yeah, I'll be happy. 'In Norway, I came from artificial pitches, so there is that change from artificial to grass. In grass, you need a lot more effort physically. So the change from artificial to grass and the hard trainings has been probably one of the toughest. It's not been amazing for now, I'm still getting used to it. It's been more tough physically than when you have the ball. You are trying to breathe a lot. It's getting there for sure. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'm getting used to the grass again. In Portugal, I played on grass and at my first club in Norway [Moss] also. But it's a really different sport on grass than artificial. I'm trying to get used to the speed on the ball, trying to get used to how I should shoot with the ball. It's everything different. I feel it's going good enough but I know that I can do better.' McInnes wants every player to impose their character upon the squad, and Braga is certainly not the shy type. The manager is still adapting to his new employers after leaving Kilmarnock for Hearts, with six new signings in place already. There will be more to come before the summer transfer window closes. Braga is building an understanding of what his new coach wants. 'It was a little bit about having personality on the pitch, trying to risk when I need to risk and to play safe when I need to play,' explained the player. 'Be smart, but also have everything on the play so I can just try to take the ball and face one-on-one whenever I have the opportunity. Of course, score a lot of goals. That's what I'm supposed to do. We've been talking mostly about the team, which is good. It's not as much individually for now. Individually, have personality on the pitch, take control of your game.' Goals, assists and skills: Hearts' new inbound transfer from Norway Braga brings a variety of attributes to the Hearts attack. He is strong and mobile with technical skills and the ability to eliminate opponents on the run. McInnes can use him in different positions. Primarily, he is a striker who is equally capable of scoring and creating goals, but he can also operate in an advanced midfield role or out wide. Braga scored 14 goals and claimed nine assists in 41 appearances for Aalesunds. His hunger to make an even better impact with Hearts is evident in conversation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yeah, it depends a lot on which formation we'll play,' he explained. 'I'm available to play as a winger, striker or second striker. I'm not like a target striker, not a normal striker when I play as a striker. I would say, individually and to fit in the team, I would be a little bit more free striker, just coming a little bit more down, make more runs in the space and not as much as targets in the box all the time - but also I need to get there. Mostly I play a little bit around that area, dropping, going back, trying to touch the ball a lot. If the coach needs me to play as a winger, I also played a winger a lot before. I think mainly it will be in the No.10 or striker, second striker, about those positions.' He is standing in training kit bearing the iconic No.10 on the front. Squad numbers are never 100 per cent final at this stage of pre-season, but Hearts giving Braga the No.10 is something the player certainly welcomes. 'Yeah, I like that. It also gives me confidence, but it's not the number that plays. So I still need to prove myself. It was the end of last year when I first heard about Hearts. It was only interest, only a little bit of knowing that they were looking to me, but nothing as serious. Then it started getting serious a little bit when the winter market closed. So it went from there.' The player said he instantly knew that the prospect of playing in Gorgie appealed. 'Yeah, straight away when I heard they were that interested, they also made me very interested because it's such a big club. It's not that you're going to change and you're going to a club that just wants you to be one more. Of course, nothing is guaranteed and I need to fight for my place every time, but it's way better to come to a club that shows that much interest in you. And this is such a big club. That was the fundamental part from when I heard about them for the first time. 'When I was like around 17, 18, I was pretty aware of Hearts as a club but not when I was really young. When I started getting into more deep football, senior football, then I was pretty aware. So when I heard from my agents that it could be a possible interest from Hearts, then I was really excited.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad SPFL expectations and personal aims in Scotland There is no hint of newcomer naivety about this player. He already knows the landscape in Edinburgh, what is expected at Hearts and the demands of supporters. He arrived with collective and personal ambitions for the season ahead after signing a three-year contract. Hearts is the highest level Braga has reached in his career to date. 'First, we want to do way better than last year by being in the top six. I think that should be the main target,' he stated. 'Then, the more positions that we can go up, the better. 'Personally, I will be trying to do as best as I can, score as many goals as I can. As a team, hopefully we can just go as far as we can. We still have a long way in the pre-season. We still have to fight a lot and to work really hard. When the games come, we show ourselves and show everybody around the club, the supporters, that we need to be better than last year. 'I feel like, the more you play with better players, the better you'll become. That's the goal. There's a lot of quality in the locker room, a lot of quality in the players. If I perform, they'll also be way better for me because I'll be served in a better way. I'll play in a better team, at a better club with better facilities. So everything will be better. 'I think when it comes to this club, it's by far the best [level] that I play. Hopefully I don't stop here but I want to enjoy it as much as I can because it's a great opportunity for me. When you're a kid, you expect to be a professional football player. Everybody wants to be. Then, when you get here, it's a dream come true, to be honest.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That quality he touched on has already made an impression in training. One Hearts player has stood out for Braga. 'Beni,' he said, in reference to midfielder Baningime. 'I was already watching Hearts games since maybe March. When I saw players like Beni, for me, he's a class player. I really like him. [Cammy] Devlin, also. He's like a horse running. Of course, there are a lot of players who stand out. Beni was the one that maybe stood out the most for me.' READ MORE: Hearts stand firm on Shankland
Metro
8 hours ago
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Arsenal flop returns after loan club have no interest in keeping him
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BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Barnett appointed Hibernian chief executive officer
Dan Barnett will start as Hibernian chief executive officer on 1 leaves Leicester City, where he was commercial director for six years, and replaces Ben previously worked for Uefa and has also had roles in sailing, skiing and the Olympics."We wanted someone with real business acumen that could help propel this fantastic club forward, and Dan's experience and expertise made him the outstanding candidate," said chairman Ian Gordon."Dan is an ambitious, forward thinking leader with experience not only in football but sports organisations across the world. His commercial nous and track record of implementing successful strategies will greatly benefit a number of areas at Hibernian FC."And Barnett said: "This is a club steeped in a proud history, with an incredibly passionate fanbase, and with huge potential as we enter an exciting new era for the football club."From my first meeting with Ian Gordon, I have been excited about the vision for Hibernian FC and implementing a strategy to help us achieve our goals here."
