Hearts manager Daniel Stendel keen to sign Schalke's Marcel Langer

Marcel Langer worked with Hearts manager Daniel Stendel at Hannover

Hearts manager Daniel Stendel is keen to sign the Schalke 04 midfielder Marcel Langer and will attempt to push a deal through before Friday night's transfer deadline.

Stendel knows the 22-year-old from his time as a youth player with Hannover and believes he would strengthen the midfield area at Tynecastle Park.

Langer is in the final six months of his Schalke contract but is out of favour at the German Bundesliga club. He is keen to move to play more regularly, although negotiating time is slim with Scotland's transfer window closing at midnight on Friday.

Langer is currently playing with Schalke's reserve team and favours a holding midfield role. He is known in Germany as an energetic and robust player who likes to play from deep. He may become a pre-contract option for a summer move to Hearts if a deal does not materialise this month.

Stendel is also keen to recruit another striker before the deadline and is working to that effect. He has already added two internationalists to his forward line in Liam Boyce and Donis Avdijaj, with midfielder Toby Sibbick also arriving on loan from Barnsley.