Hearts due £300,000-plus development fee if Andy Irving leaves

Hearts will be entitled to claim training compensation of more than £300,000 if midfielder Andy Irving leaves on freedom of contract this summer.

Hearts will be due compensation if Andy Irving leaves.

The 21-year-old has been offered a new deal at Tynecastle Park but has yet to sign with his existing agreement due to expire at the end of this month. Should he move on as a free agent, Hearts will be due the six-figure development fee.

Irving has played for the Edinburgh club all his life and is the most successful Riccarton youth academy graduate in recent years. He made 29 appearances and scored three goals this season as Hearts won the Championship title and promotion back to the Premiership.

However, he is not satisfied with the terms proposed and hitherto has been unwilling to commit his future to his current employers. He can still accept Hearts’ offer up to two weeks after his deal finishes, but thereafter he becomes an unattached player.

Irving is officially still undecided on his future having grown up supporting Hearts and become a popular player among supporters in recent seasons. He can join a new club and trigger the compensation, although the signing club often tries to negotiate the amount to bring it down.

There is no official deadline for Irving to inform Hearts of his decision. He is keen to play regularly next season with a contract befitting an established first-team regular.

He previously spent time on loan at Falkirk and Berwick Rangers but rose to prominence during Hearts’ 2019/20 campaign under former managers Craig Levein and Daniel Stendel.

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