Hearts release Daniel Baur and Kelby Mason as squad restructure begins

Daniel Baur has been released by Hearts.

Hearts have released defender Daniel Baur and goalkeeper Kelby Mason as they begin reducing the size of their playing squad.

Both 21-year-olds are now available as free agents and are searching for new clubs ahead of next season.

Baur made two senior appearances for Hearts under former manager Craig Levein during the 2017/18 campaign. He spent the last year on loan at Lowland League side Bonnyrigg Rose.

Mason has not featured at first-team level since he and Baur emerged from the Riccarton youth academy four years ago.

The moves are first step in a squad restructuring process at Tynecastle Park as the club intend to reduce the number of professional players on their payroll.

Winger Lewis Moore and defender Jamie Brandon have both been offered new contracts for next season, but the futures of many other players remain unclear.

The Hearts owner Ann Budge is attempting to fight enforced relegation from the Scottish Premiership as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

She is working on a league reconstruction plan aimed at expanding the top flight. Should that fail, legal action against the Scottish Professional Football League remains a possibility.

Players are waiting to discover which league the Edinburgh club will play in before holding discussions with the club hierarchy about the way forward.

The future of manager Daniel Stendel is also shrouded in uncertainty. His contract runs until 2022 but is only valid in the Premiership, leaving him technically a free agent as things stand.

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