Latest news with #Kyziridis
Daily Record
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
How Hearts made Alexandros Kyziridis offer he couldn't refuse as he reveals wife ordered his Stirling celebration
Kyziridis covered his face to hail his goal against Stirling Albion – on his wife's orders Alexandros Kyziridis admits Hearts made him an offer he couldn't refuse. The Greek winger delivered a tantalising taste of the trickery and attacking threat he aims to showcase to Tynecastle fans with a goal and assist in the 4-0 win against Stirling on Saturday. And the 24-year-old says it was just the starting point for his ambitions after jumping at the chance to seal a transfer to the Jambos. He said: 'When you have one offer from such a huge club, you cannot say no. I like Scottish football and the fans celebrate every game. This was what I was thinking about before I said yes to sign for Hearts. 'It was a very easy decision. Before I came, I was watching the games so I could see how the fans are, how the team are so I knew my new team-mates before I came. 'It was hard to learn the names. But now I know everyone. I had a little bit of a problem with the accent, but now I think I'm good and at least I can understand everything.' Kyziridis has signed a three-year deal after his contract with Slovak side MFK Zemplin Michalovce expired and he revealed former Jambo Takis Fyssas provided a glowing reference on what to expect in Edinburgh. His front-foot, attacking style thrilled the Hearts fans at Forthbank and Kyziridis is eager to build on his bright start when Hearts host Dumbarton on Tuesday night. He added: 'My agent spoke with Takis and he said I have to go to Hearts. I trust him and decided to take his advice. 'I could have scored more against Stirling, but that is OK, that is football, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. 'First of all, I'm happy because we won and we kept a clean sheet, so this is most important for our team. 'It was good to hear the fans reacting positively to me, it's very helpful. Kyziridis covered his face to hail his goal – on his wife's orders. He said: 'I had the feeling the day before the Stirling game I would score. 'I discussed with my wife what celebration should I do? She told me to do that celebration and because I scored, I will keep it.'
Scotsman
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis is ready to fight after Takis Fyssas advice
Greek winger ready for the Scottish Premiership after transfer from Slovakia 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... Alexandros Kyziridis announced himself to Hearts supporters with a goal and an assist in Saturday's 4-0 win at Stirling Albion. The Premier Sports Cup is a gentle introduction to Scottish football for now, but the Greek winger stressed he is ready for proper battles commencing. A minor injury prevented Kyziridis featuring in any of Hearts' first two Group E ties following his arrival from the Slovakian club Zemplín Michalovce. At Forthbank, he offered a hint of what is to come with a repertoire of dribbling runs, crosses and shots at goal. Exactly the type of wide player supporters like ahead of the new Scottish Premiership season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'm really happy, but not too much because I could score more goals on Saturday,' said Kyziridis. 'Okay, this is football, sometimes it goes in, sometimes not. First of all, I'm happy because we won the game and we lost zero goals, so this is the most important for our team. 'I was waiting a lot for this, for this moment just to play, to enjoy my job, to enjoy what I'm doing. I waited two games but now I'm back, I'm 100 per cent healthy and I'm here to help the team. I'm here to give everything for this team, for these fans, for my team-mates, for the coaching staff, for everyone. 'Before I came here I was watching the games, so I see how the fans are and how the team is. I knew some team-mates before I came. Not the names because it was hard, to be fair, to learn the names. Now I know everyone. In the beginning, I had a little bit of a problem with the accent. It was hard for me but now I think I'm good, and at least I can understand 100 per cent of everything.' One player was more difficult to decipher than others. 'The hardest? My brother Stu [Findlay]. Oh my god. Yeah, this guy,' said Kyziridis. To ensure he wasn't totally alien to Tynecastle culture, the 24-year-old's agent sought advice from a certain Takis Fyssas. If there is one Greek who knows how to succeed in Gorgie, it is the legendary former left-back. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts transfer influenced by Takis Fyssas 'My agent spoke with with Takis Fyssas. He said that I have to go here. I have to come. So I trust him and I came here,' said Kyziridis. 'He said just to enjoy what I'm doing. To enjoy every training session, every game. And this is what I'm trying to do every day - to be better and better. Every league has different things so you need to adapt. I believe that I will adapt fast and I will give my 100 per cent every game.' The physicality of Scottish football has already made an impression. 'Yeah, I was expecting this - that it will be more running, more fights. I'm ready to fight, I'm ready to run, and I'm ready to give everything,' stressed Kyziridis. 'When you have one offer from such a huge club, you cannot say 'no'. I like the project. I like Scottish football, the way the fans celebrate every game. This was what I was thinking before I said 'yes'. It was a very easy decision and I'm really happy that I made this decision.' Alongside fellow new recruit Claudio Braga, Kyziridis performs a specific celebration after scoring. Hearts fans saw this on Saturday as the player covered his own face with his other arm outstretched. The biggest surprise is the source of the routine. 'It was not some special reason,' explained Kyziridis. 'I was with my wife and we discussed things because I was struggling when I was in Hungary, I was struggling to score goal. So I had the feeling one day before the game that I would score. And then I was discussing with my wife what celebration should I do? She gave me this celebration and, because I scored, I kept it.' He is now seeking to please a new manager in Derek McInnes. 'He gave me the freedom to do my stuff, what I am able to do, and also to defend,' said the player. 'I don't like to speak so much about what the fans will expect from me. I'm just here to show every game in the field and not to talk. The fans are good for the players to get confidence. It's very helpful.'
Scotsman
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
transfer latest, plus roles for Claudio Braga and James Wilson
Two Premier Sports Cup group games to come 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 delay on Alexandros Kyziridis' Hearts debut is down to the Greek winger building up basic fitness at Riccarton. He is the only one of six new signings yet to make a competitive debut for the Edinburgh club, which could come in Saturday's Premier Sports Cup tie at Stirling Albion if he proves himself ready. A niggling injury caused Kyziridis to miss training sessions last week, and he was an unused substitute in Hearts' first two Premier Sports Cup matches against Dunfermline Athletic and Hamilton Academical. A summer arrival from the Slovakian club Zemplín Michalovce, the 24-year-old is in contention for the remaining two group phase games against Stirling and Dumbarton. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We need to build his training,' Hearts head coach Derek McInnes told the Edinburgh News. 'He's missed a week of training and we're trying to build his minutes up through his working week for him to be included in the games.' Hearts travel to Stirling on Saturday evening before hosting Dumbarton at Tynecastle in their final Group E match on Wednesday. Tynecastle officials are still working to finalise the transfers of Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota and Burkinabe forward Pierre Landry Kabore. Both need to go through different immigration procedures to obtain a UK visa after arriving in Scotland. There is a chance at least one of the two players could be signed and registered before this weekend, but Hearts are facing a race against the clock for that to happen. Kabore, 24, is ready to play and could potentially be included in the squad to face Stirling Albion if paperwork is finalised in time. He enjoyed regular action with JK Narva Trans in Estonia, where the football season runs from March to November, hence fitness will not be an issue. He is a left-footed right winger but scored the majority of his 22 goals for Narva Trans as a striker. Hearts intend to use him in both positions at times. Kerjota will need longer to be ready for competitive Scottish football once his £120,000 transfer from Italian Serie C side US Sambenedettese goes through. He is another left-footed right winger but can also operate on the left flank. The 23-year-old finished the season in May and will require time to catch up on pre-season training before fans can see him in maroon. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hearts wait for transfer deals but strikers are scoring goals in Premier Sports Cup McInnes has plenty options meantime after forwards Elton Kabangu, James Wilson and Claudio Braga all scored in the 4-0 win over Hamilton. He is considering whether to play Braga from the start this weekend after the Portuguese stole the show as a substitute. After an assist for Wilson's goal, Braga then added the fourth himself in between a series of runs, tricks and flicks which delighted supporters at Broadwood. 'He just lit the place up, didn't he? He was a wee bottle of pop when he came on, just desperate to please,' said McInnes. 'Claudio was a wee bit down on himself Sunday and Monday. Not because he wasn't playing but I think it's because he's probably built Saturday up in his own head to be that [big] game. 'He's desperate to do well, and what he will do work extremely hard to be a success here. I think he'll have the wee bit of brilliance and the wee tricks and stuff that will always make him a wee bit of a crowd pleaser. But I think what you're going to get from him as well is the fact that he's going to be a hard-working boy who's desperate to do well. 'He was a bit hard on himself at the weekend, I felt. He does a lot of his best work coming in narrow off that left-hand side. Even on Tuesday night, he did a lot of his good work from the left-hand side. He sets up James Wilson from the other channel, which was good to see. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'His overall play was good because, when you've got boys like that at the top of the pitch, they're infectious. They set the tone - boys who press and work and look after the ball and run in behind. We've got strikers who all do something a bit different, but the more you've got that threat in behind, ones who look after the ball, you're always going to be drawn to that. It's good that all strikers scored goals again on Tuesday.' James Wilson's Hearts role for season 2025/26 Wilson will find himself rested at some point in the next week or so but he will play a major part in Hearts' forthcoming campaign. The 18-year-old Riccarton youth academy graduate has already impressed the new management team at Tynecastle, Tuesday being the latest in a series of strong attacking displays. 'He did a lot right at the early part of the game, and then when he runs in behind he ghosts in and his timing is so sweet,' observed McInnes. 'He needs to play closer to his partner at times, and sometimes he doesn't see himself in the build-up play. I thought we lost him to the game a wee bit for spells against Dunfermline, and there was a wee danger of losing him to the game a wee bit before half-time on Tuesday. 'We spoke about that, about playing more connected. I thought he was brilliant in the second half. The intelligence to drop off, be the extra man, then take defenders into areas they don't really want to go to. Then he's got that ability and the fitness and the intelligence to go and spin in behind. He's in the middle of the goal, where he should be, running right through the goal. I like him. He's got a lot of good qualities and the thing is, he's always asking the right questions.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad McInnes praised the Hearts players' attitude in their first two competitive games despite facing lower-league opponents. His team are fare from the finished article with more transfer business to be done, but the manager is satisfied that everyone involved is applying themselves. 'We spoke about things we could have done better,' explained McInnes. 'We've worked on a shape against what we thought Hamilton would be. They've always been 4-2-3-1 - last season, the League Cup games, the pre-season games. It just shows you, ultimately, it's not about systems and tactics. It's about making sure, particularly in games like Tuesday, that your approach is first-class. 'Our boys are Premiership players, not just because they're good players, but it was important that we showed a Premiership attitude and a Premiership desire to run and work. I thought we got all that. We scored good goals at good times. We passed up good opportunities for it to be a far more comfortable first half. The difference between Saturday and Tuesday is we don't give the opposition any real encouragement. 'I thought we started like a train in the first 10-15 minutes, really good. Then we had a wee bit of a lull and it's two teams playing the same system [3-5-2]. Sometimes when that happens, it can be a wee bit cagey and a wee bit slow. It's important that, in those moments, we try to keep the shoulder to the wheel, keep that concerted pressure, demand the team play forward, run forward and look after the ball. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I still thought that we could have done a lot of that better, to be honest. Elton gets his goal and I'm pleased for him because he'd missed a couple and he should score them. But you know what it's like for strikers. He feels good about himself coming in. James gets another goal, Braga gets a goal, and I thought we were really professional throughout. Not that we weren't professional on Saturday, but I thought we didn't give Hamilton too much encouragement. 'Hamilton have got a good level of player. They're a championship team playing in League One. They finished above Dunfermline, really, in terms of points last season. It was only through the finances and the points deduction [that they went down], so we made that point clear to the players. The game demanded our full attention and we got that. I'm glad we came through the game unscathed. It's four more goals, which is never a bad thing, and we got a clean sheet.'
Scotsman
06-06-2025
- 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.
