Alim Ozturk leaves Hearts for Turkish club Boluspor

Alim Ozturk has left Hearts and joined Boluspor on an 18-month deal

The centre-back was out of favour at Tynecastle and was told he had no future there having been stripped of the captaincy in September.

He leaves in a permanent move after deciding to return to the Turkish second tier. He previously played in Turkey with Trabzonspor before joining Hearts in 2014.

The 24-year-old enjoyed an impressive first season in Scotland as the Edinburgh club won the Championship. He was then named club captain in 2015 after Danny Wilson departed.

However, this season Ozturk lost his place in the starting line-up. He was relieved of the captain's armband in September, which was given to the American internationalist Perry Kitchen.

Ozturk decided to return to Turkey at the first opportunity but will remain popular with the Hearts support for his memorable 40-yard equaliser against Hibs at Easter Road in October 2014.