Schalke midfielder Marcel Langer flying to Edinburgh to join Hearts

Schalke's Marcel Langer is expected to join Hearts in the next 24 hours. Pic: Rex Features.

Schalke 04 midfielder Marcel Langer is due to jet into Edinburgh in the next 24 hours to join Hearts.

The 22-year-old is eager to reunite with manager Daniel Stendel, his youth coach at former club Hannover, and is heading to Scotland aiming to complete a move to Tynecastle Park.

He is expected to undergo a medical and, barring any unexpected problems, the deal should go through before Scotland's transfer deadline at midnight on Friday.

Langer is in the final six months of his Schalke contract but is out of favour at the German Bundesliga club. He is keen to move to play more regularly having been left in their reserve team this season.

He worked under Stendel whilst progressing through the Hannover youth academy. His time there ended in summer 2018 when he joined Schalke but he has not been able to establish himself in Gelsenkirchen.

The German favours a holding midfield role and is known in his homeland as an energetic and robust player who likes to pass quickly from deep. In the unlikely even that a deal does not materialise this month, he could become a pre-contract option for a summer move to Hearts.

Stendel is also keen to recruit another striker before the deadline and is working to that effect. He has already added two internationalists to his forward line in Liam Boyce and Donis Avdijaj, with midfielder Toby Sibbick also arriving on loan from Barnsley.