Latest news with #Kyziridis
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts transfers and what new signings will offer: Bum-baring, rampaging and goalscoring
Signings will continue through the summer window ahead of SPFL season 2025/26 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... New recruits reporting to Riccarton later this month can generally be described as 'unknown quantities'. Elton Kabangu apart, most Hearts fans will know little about their club's latest signings. Four deals are complete and there will be several more to come as new head coach Derek McInnes reshapes an underperforming first-team squad. Internet searches provide a brief impression of players and there has been plenty reason for Hearts supporters to scour Youtube lately. The Edinburgh News has compiled its own dossier on the men who have committed their futures to the west side of Edinburgh. We also assessed another two of the players Hearts officials are aiming to lure to Scotland this summer: Christian Borchgrevink Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 26-year-old Valerenga captain left his former club in good spirits after baring his backside not once but three times to supporters at the end of his final appearance. His character is certain to bring colour to the Riccarton dressing room, but also leadership. A lifelong Valerenga fan, he joined the club aged nine and helped them return to Norway's Eliteserien in 2024 by scoring the decisive goal to confirm promotion. He is an attack-minded full-back, quick and comfortable on the ball, with crossing among his best attributes. He is also comfortable stepping into midfield during attacks. Borchgrevink spent more than four months of last season sidelined with a knee injury but returned in time to play before Valerenga's season ended. He may take time to reach peak fitness once he arrives at Hearts, but nothing a good pre-season shouldn't remedy. He is firmly expected to make the right-back position his own at Tynecastle next season after signing a three-year contract. Alexandros Kyziridis A Greek winger plucked from the relative obscurity of Slovakia's top flight, the Niké Liga, Kyziridis offers pace, goals and assists. The 24-year-old recorded an impressive 16 goals and eight assists from 30 appearances for Slovakian side Zemplín Michalovce last season. He is now destined for Hearts after agreeing a three-year deal. He is two-footed but tends to favour his right slightly more and is fond of a rampage in behind opposing defences. He lines up on the left flank as an inverted winger who tends to drift inside frequently. He also positions himself centrally when crosses arrive from the opposite side and displays a striker's instinct in and around the penalty area. The challenge for Kyziridis will be the unforgiving nature of Scottish football and the little time he will get in possession. If he can cope with the physicality, he definitely has the talent to succeed. Elton Kabangu Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The one familiar face to sign so far. Kabangu's loan from Union Saint-Gilloise was converted into a permanent transfer for a fee in the region of £250,000. He also signed for three years. He scored eight goals in the first 11 games of his loan spell but faded thereafter. A left-footed striker with good movement and the ability to score various kinds of goals, the Belgian tends to do his best work inside the penalty box. Many fans are keen to see him line up in a 4-4-2 system and McInnes has hinted that he will use that formation, certainly at Tynecastle, next term. Kabangu is hungry to prove himself and admitted publicly that he wants to do better than he did towards the end of last season. Oisin McEntee The giant New York-born Irishman has been brought in to add presence to Hearts' midfield, but that is not all he will offer. Signed from Walsall in England's League Two, he is another who carries mental strength and character. Played in defence a number of times for Walsall but is being signed as a central midfielder under McInnes. McEntee stands 6ft 3ins tall and is understandably good in the air. He is also technically very capable with the ball at his feet and his range of passing is varied. He can break wide to deliver crosses and carries an obvious threat from set-pieces. He is more than simply a midfield anchorman and will generally look to pass forward to initiate attacks. Signed a three-year contract and could play a big role next season. Islam Chesnokov Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The long-running saga of the Kazakhstan internationalist's move to Edinburgh is still ongoing. Hearts want a deal with his club, Tobol Kostanay, to sign him this summer and are hoping for a conclusion soon. If successful, they will be recruiting another inverted winger who also likes a rampage past defenders, but this time a right-sided one. Chesnokov, 25, is left-footed but operates off the right flank. His playing style carries some similarities to Kyziridis in that he often roams inside onto his stronger foot. He has four goals and two assists from 16 appearances in the Kazakhstan Premier League and has also played 13 times for his national team, scoring twice. The standard of Kazakhstan football allows creative players like Chesnokov time and space which he won't get in Scotland. However, if he can find pockets of space and tee up his left foot, he is capable of unleashing some powerful strikes from distance. Daniel Arzani Hearts have put a contract offer to the Australian internationalist, who featured as a substitute for his country against Japan in Thursday's World Cup qualifier. He is set to leave Melbourne Victory for free with his contract expiring. Age 26, he is young enough to offer sell-on potential but Hearts face competition for his signature from Europe and Asia. Arzani is different to Kyziridis and Chesnokov in that he is more of a touchline winger - the type who like white paint on their boots from stretching the play so much. Dribbling and pace are among his best skills and he delivers a mean cross whether playing on the left or right side. He is right-footed so tends to favour that position. Can be guilty of overplaying and questionable decision-making with the ball, sometimes trying to beat one man too many. However, he possesses natural talent which could see him make more of an impact if he returns to Scotland after a previous injury-interrupted loan at Celtic. READ MORE: Penrice and Shankland Hearts futures as English clubs circle
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Prolific winger Kyziridis to join Hearts from Zemplin
Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis will join Heart of Midlothian on a three-year contract when his current deal expires with Slovak top-flight club Zemplin Michalovce this 24-year-old scored 15 goals in 25 league matches this season - more than any player from the club has managed at that who joined Zemplin from Hungarian club Debrecen last August, has scored 16 goals in all competitions, with 23 goal involvements in 28 describe him as "a pacey, direct attacker with an eye for goal" who "has been one of Slovakian football's success stories" and "predominantly a left-sided winger". A product of PAOK youth system in his homeland, Kyziridis went on to play for Iraklis and Volos before a two-year spell in Slovakia with Zlate moved to Debrecen in 2022, helping them finish third in Hungary's top flight and played in Conference League qualifying the following season, he finished third top scorer in the Slovakian top flight - four goals behind Tigran Barseghyan and David Strelec, both of champions Slovan Bratislava - as Zemplin narrowly missed out on the Championship group after their becomes the second player signed by Hearts on a pre-contract agreement ahead of the new season, with Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink poised to arrive from Greek is the first signing to be announced since Derek McInnes moved to Tynecastle from Kilmarnock as head coach on Monday.
Scotsman
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts land first signing of Derek McInnes era as 24 y/o signs three-year deal
Greek winger signs on at Tynecastle with more to follow Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, 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... Hearts have made their first signing of the Derek McInnes era after confirming the capture of Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis on a pre-contract agreement. The 24-year-old will join the Jambos on a three-year deal in the summer, subject to Scottish FA approval, following the expiry of his contract with Slovak top flight side MFK Zemplin Michalovce. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Kyziridis finished the campaign as second top scorer in the Slovak First Football League having netted 16 times in all competitions with 23 goal involvements in 28 games. Derek McInnes has landed his first signing as Hearts manager. Pic: Malcolm Mackenzie/Hearts FC | © Malcolm Mackenzie/Hearts FC Predominantly a left-sided winger, Kyziridis is a product of the youth system of Greek giants PAOK. Hearts will be the seventh club of his senior career following spells in Greece, Hungary and Slovakia. He has been identified through Jamestown Analytics with McInnes giving his approval for the transfer following his appointment as the club's new head coach on Monday. Kyziridis is the second summer signing in Gorgie following the recruitment of Norwegian defender Christian Borchgrevink. The right-back signed a pre-contract deal to leave Valerenga and will join up with Hearts for pre-season next month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Second Hearts transfer done as Alexandros Kyziridis signs with more new arrivals to follow
Derek McInnes is preparing for season 2025/26 as the new Tynecastle head coach 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... The summer rebuild at Tynecastle Park continued today with confirmation that Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis is joining Hearts. The 24-year-old left Slovakian side Zemplín Michalovce as a free agent and signed a pre-contract to continue his career under the new Hearts head coach Derek McInnes. His three-year deal will kick in next month. Comfortable on the left flank but also able to operate on the right or through the middle, Kyziridis is a goalscoring forward who struck 16 goals and claimed eight assists in 26 appearances this season. His move was approved by McInnes following the manager's appointment by Hearts on Monday. The Edinburgh club also intend to sign another wide player and are close to agreeing a deal for the Kazakhstan internationalist Islam Chesnokov. They are also identifying potential midfield targets. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Kyziridis is the second summer signing in Gorgie following Norwegian defender Christian Borchgrevink. The right-back signed a pre-contract deal to leave Valerenga and will report to Riccarton for pre-season training next month. Hearts confirmed that winger Barrie McKay and midfielder Jorge Grant will officially leave at the end of this month when their contracts expire. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon and captain Lawrence Shankland have been offered extensions. Kyziridis was reared in PAOK Salonika's youth programme in his homeland, however he moved on and made a senior debut with Iraklis in 2019. He then signed for Volos before heading to Slovakia to join ViOn Zlaté Moravce. After that came two years at the Hungarian club Debrecen, during which he was loaned to Mura in Slovenia. Kyziridis joined Zemplín last August and is a player identified through Hearts' partnership with sports recruitment firm Jamestown Analytics. More to follow....
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Hearts in talks with Greek winger Kyziridis'
Hearts are in talks with Zemplin Michalovce winger Alexandros Kyziridis, with the 24-year-old Greek out of contract at the Slovakian club this summer. (Daily Record), externalHearts have held talks with Zemplin Michalovce winger Alexandros Kyziridis and Kazakhstan winger Islam Chesnokov, currently with Tobol, but with Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes due to move to Tynecastle next week, any unsigned deals are likely to be on hold until he assesses the first-team squad. (Edinburgh Evening News), externalRead Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.
