Hearts target more new signings with Liam Boyce set for transfer exit
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Liam Boyce’s Hearts career is drawing to a close with a move to Derry City expected to be finalised in the next few days. The 33-year-old returned to the starting line-up at Tynecastle Park three games ago but has been a peripheral figure for most of the season, and is now poised to return to his native Northern Ireland.
The deal is not yet complete but all parties are willing for the move to take place. Boyce will travel to Derry for a medical and then join pre-season training next week ahead of the 2025 League of Ireland campaign starting on 14 February. His Hearts contract is due to expire at the end of the season and the club are looking to reshape their squad this month.
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Hide AdAs one of the highest earners at Tynecastle, Boyce’s exit will allow Hearts to recruit at least one more new player before the January transfer window closes. Freeing up his wage will create space in the budget which can be reinvested for the second half of the campaign as head coach Neil Critchley aims to steer the team clear of the Premiership’s relegation zone.
Critchley would like to sign a forward who can play out wide if possible and a creative midfielder is also on the Edinburgh club’s wishlist. More defensive reinforcements are needed with Frankie Kent, Stephen Kingsley and Gerald Taylor sidelined through injury, plus Andrés Salazar back in Colombia after his loan from Atletico Nacional was cut short. Added to that, centre-back Kye Rowles is due to join MLS side DC United in a £600,000 deal.
Rowles’ replacement is already in place with the arrival of central defender Jamie McCart from Rotherham United completed last week. Striker Elton Kabangu was Hearts’ first January signing after agreeing a loan move from Union Saint-Gilloise. Others are certain to follow as management continue to move some players out in order to bring fresh faces into the first-team squad.
Boyce’s departure will bring to an end a five-year stay in Gorgie for the talented forward. He was signed from Burton Albion in January 2020 by then-Hearts manager Daniel Stendel and quickly became a mainstay of the team. Game time has been limited this year and he is ready to move to Derry to play more regularly.