Heart of Midlothian are making up for lost time during the summer transfer market, signing three players in recent weeks following a slow start.
Steven Naismith has added Michael McGovern, Calem Nieuwenhof and Frankie Kent to his squad, while there will surely be another few new faces arriving in the coming weeks.
What are the latest Hearts transfer rumours?
According to reports in Costa Rica last week (via The Daily Record), Hearts have agreed a fee with Kenneth Vargas to make the move to the Tynecastle side this summer.
The fee which has been agreed between Hearts and Herediano is believed to be in the region of £250k according to Costa Rican journalist Kevin Jimenez (via The Daily Record), although due to work permit issues, the move might not be completed for a few days yet.
With Japanese player Kyosuke Tagawa set to be announced soon, Naismith is giving his team a much-needed freshening up ahead of the new Premiership season.
Who is Kenneth Vargas?
The Jambos had to rely mainly on two players for goals last season, Lawrence Shankland, and Josh Ginnelly.
The duo netted 28 and 13 goals respectively and with Alan Forrest next best on the list with five goals, it shows how important the pair were to the club last term.
Shankland is raring to go for another season in Edinburgh, yet Ginnelly left upon the expiration of his contract, deciding to join Swansea City in the Championship, representing a huge blow to Hearts.
The winger ranked second for goals and assists in the league across the whole squad (16), while also ranking first for big chances created (seven) and second for successful dribbles per game (1.1), suggesting that he had a positive influence on the team last season and his presence will be missed.
Vargas may be the ideal candidate to replace the Englishman should he secure a move to Hearts. The 21-year-old tends to operate mainly as a centre-forward yet has been known to feature on the left wing, giving Naismith some options.
For Herediano, he has scored 14 goals and grabbed seven assists across 67 matches, indicating that he perhaps isn’t the most prolific player, but does contribute goals and assists.
Across both the Clausura and Apertura divisions during the 2022/23 season, he scored ten goals, showing that he has the maturity to keep up a solid level of performance over the course of a season and this could benefit Naismith.
Vargas has been named in the Costa Rica squad a few times since 2021, most notably in the recent Gold Cup, however, he has yet to make an appearance for his country, failing to emerge from the bench during their quarter-final defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup.
Hearts appear to be taking a gamble on signing players from further afield such as Costa Rica, yet this could perhaps see them come into the Scottish game with no pressure and allow them to perform well.
With a major void to be filled by Ginnelly’s departure, Vargas could become a hero if he hits the ground running.