Hearts set to spend a €1m transfer fee on Sabri Guendouz
Edinburgh club remain busy in the summer window
French forward Sabri Guendouz is poised to become Hearts’ latest summer signing after a transfer fee of around £850,000 was agreed with his Belgian club, Beerschot. The 26-year-old is contracted for another 12 months but Hearts are prepared to pay to bring him to Edinburgh this summer as they reshape their first-team squad.
Guendouz can operate anywhere across the front line. He is keen to play top-flight Scottish football and sample the Champions League qualifying rounds this year. Beerschot were beaten in the play-offs by Lommel SK last month and will remain in Belgium’s second tier for season 2026/27. They have an option to extend Guendouz’s contract beyond summer 2027 but have accepted the offer from Hearts.
Guendouz joined Beerschot a year ago from French Ligue 2 club Guingamp and, after a strong first season in Belgium, now looks set to move on. He scored three goals and claimed seven assists in 33 appearances this season. He is to undergo a medical and put pen to paper on a contract in Edinburgh before being confirmed as the latest addition to the Hearts squad.
He is a versatile player who can operate as a central striker or out wide on either flank. He has also performed as an attacking midfielder and will offer different options in attack. After Hearts signed fellow wingers Josh McPake and Calvin Miller, plus defenders MJ Kamson-Kamara and Malachi Fagan-Walcott, and forward Amadou Ba-Sy, Guendouz would be another attacking addition to the squad. French midfielder Tom Renaud is also set to arrive this month.
Hearts paid in excess of £700,000 before add-ons to bring Fagan-Walcott north for York City. They spent £173,000 on Ba-Sy and will pay €1m [£850,000] to seal the capture of Guendouz. The club are both replenishing and trying to strengthen their squad after losing some established names in recent weeks.
Captain Lawrence Shankland activated a release clause in his three-year contract to join Rangers for free last month. Midfielder Beni Baningime, winger Alan Forrest, plus defenders Frankie Kent and Lewis Neilson have gone after their contracts expired. Another midfielder, Cammy Devlin, has been offered fresh terms to stay at Hearts but has yet to decide his future. He is currently at the World Cup with Australia.
With head coach Derek McInnes and coaches Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald also gone to Rangers, Hearts find themselves in a period of transtion. They are working to identify McInnes’ replacement and held several interviews for the position this week. They hope to be able to name their new manager in the coming days before players report back to Riccarton for pre-season preparations on Thursday.