Hearts release four first-team members - and why two players are missing

Four Hearts first-team players are leaving Tynecastle Park when their contracts expire this summer. Defenders Frankie Kent and Lewis Neilson, midfielder Beni Baningime, plus winger Alan Forrest are all confirmed departures following the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Hearts are starting to rebuild ahead of next season and are working on a number of transfer deals to replenish their squad. Captain Lawrence Shankland invoked a break clause in his three-year deal to join Rangers and will be replaced by another striker. Winger Josh McPake is arriving from St Johnstone and French midfielder Tom Renaud is already preparing to move to Edinburgh. Deals for English centre-backs MJ Kamson-Kamara and Malachi Fagan-Walcott are also edging closer.

Tynecastle officials today released the list of players who will be moving on following an exhilarating Premiership title challenge. Kent’s three-year contract is ending and he is interested in playing abroad, but also has options in Britain. The popular Englishman played 95 times for Hearts and scored four goals since arriving from Peterborough United in 2023.

Centre-back Neilson spent this season on loan at Falkirk and is now surplus to requirements at Tynecastle. He was previously loaned out to St Johnstone and Partick Thistle after joining Hearts from Dundee United in 2022. He made 23 appearances for his parent club but is heading for pastures new.

Midfielder Baningime spent five years in maroon after moving north from Everton. His deal is up and Hearts’ recruitment partner, Jamestown Analytics, did not recommend an extension for the 27-year-old. He is now looking at various options for next season after 127 games and two goals in Gorgie.

Forrest joined Hearts from Livingston in summer 2023 and played regularly throughout his first two years. He featured less this season and is not being offered a new deal. He made 147 Hearts appearances, scoring 14 times, and has interest from several Scottish clubs this summer.

Midfielder Marc Leonard has returned to parent club Birmingham City after spending the second half of the season on loan at Hearts. He ruptured an Achilles tendon against Motherwell earlier this month and is now recovering. He is expected to be sidelined until the end of the year.

Hearts winger Kenneth Vargas, meanwhile, is close to agreeing a move to the Greek second-tier side Kalamata. He is currently on loan at Deportiva Alajuelense in his native Costa Rica, but the 24-year-old is expected to return to Europe as talks over another loan deal progress.

Two out-of-contract players missing from Hearts’ list of released players are midfielder Cammy Devlin and goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Their futures have not yet been decided for certain. Tynecastle officials have not abandoned all hope of keeping Devlin into next season. However, both parties are currently some distance away from an agreement.

Talks are ongoing and the player is open to the prospect of staying in Edinburgh. He is currently in Florida at a pre-World Cup training camp with Australia. As the Edinburgh News revealed last week, he has interest from three Major League Soccer clubs, one of which has put forward a firm contract offer. English teams have also scouted Devlin.

Gordon is training with the Scotland squad in Glasgow ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Curacao. The 43-year-old was named in his country’s World Cup squad last week despite featuring only three times for Hearts this season. He has been hindered by injury and will decide whether to continue playing or retire after the World Cup.

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