Orestis Kiomourtzoglou arrives at Tynecastle as Hearts complete deal for German

Orestis Kiomourtzoglou has arrived in Edinburgh and signed a three-year deal to join Hearts from the Dutch club Heracles Almelo.

The German midfielder is due to attend Sunday’s Premiership match against St Johnstone at Tynecastle Park after completing his move from the Netherlands for a £350,000 fee.

Hearts activated a release clause in his contract following Heracles’ relegation and the 24-year-old will continue his career in Scotland pending international clearance and visa approval.

He did not train with the Dutch club yesterday morning but said farewell to team-mates at their training ground before travelling to Edinburgh. A former Germany Under-21 internationalist, Kiomourtzoglou carries a physical presence at 6ft 2in tall but is also a composed passer of the ball with the required energy to get around the middle of the pitch.

“I’m delighted we’ve managed to get Orestis in on a permanent deal,” Hearts manager Robbie Neilson told the club’s website. “He’s one we’ve had our eye on for a while so to be able to bring him here ahead of the window closing is great news.

“He’ll bring a real presence to our midfield and his style of play will be well suited to the system we implement here. We’re building a squad capable of challenging on two fronts – domestically and in Europe – and to have Orestis be a part of it is a big plus.”

Hearts sporting director Joe Savage explained how the scouting department played an important role in identifying Kiomourtzoglou. “We’ve made no secret of our ambitions to supplement our squad but it’s always been about quality over quantity and we’ve got that in Orestis,” he said.

“Our recruitment department, lead by Will Lancefield, do a fantastic job in sourcing potential targets and they identified Orestis some time ago as someone who could come in and improve the team.

Orestis Kiomourtzoglou has joined Hearts on a three-year deal. Pic: Heart of Midlothian FC

“We’ve had to be patient to get him in but we’re all really happy that he’s going to be pulling on the maroon jersey and once again I have to give my thanks to the board of directors for their faith and backing in us to take this club to the next level.”

Kiomourtzoglou is Hearts’ seventh summer signing after Kye Rowles, Lewis Neilson, Alex Cochrane, Jorge Grant, Alan Forrest and Lawrence Shankland.