According to the Edinburgh News, Hearts is interested in Union Saint-Gilloise forward Elton Kabangu in January. The 26-year-old, who plays as a center-forward but can also play wide, has been the subject of discussions between the two clubs about a loan agreement.
In order to escape the relegation zone of the Scottish Premiership, Hearts plan to speed up their offensive in the second half of the season. After losing favour at USG, Kabangu is now available, and talks with Tynecastle officials have advanced recently. Both teams utilise the same sports recruitment firm, Jamestown Analytics, and the Belgian squad has connections to Tony Bloom, a possible Hearts investor.
Kabangu is keen to play more frequently for USG, having only scored once in 13 games this season. Hearts are keen to finish the loan once the January transfer window opens on New Year’s Day because they believe he has the skills to bolster their forward line.
Kabangu is a product of the reputable youth system at Gent in Belgium and also played in Netherlands for FC Eindhoven and Willem II. He is an experienced forward who uses his mobility to get into goalscoring positions. Hearts hope he can take some of the attacking burden off captain Lawrence Shankland and 17-year-old striker James Wilson.
READ MORE: Hearts outline their position with transfer interest and contract talks involving senior players
After a miserable derby loss to Hibs, Hearts fell back into the bottom two, and Shankland is aware that if they can’t get it together, they’re in serious trouble.
Lawrence Shankland maintains that anyone who is taking the recent improvement in Hearts’ fortunes for granted needs to face the fact that things aren’t going well at the moment. Following Hibs’ vicious Boxing Day derby defeat on Thursday, which left the Jambos reeling back into the bottom two, the direct-talking captain stood up.
The Tynecastle striker gave a scathing appraisal of Neil Critchley’s team’s current situation, with a relegation struggle looming, while wearing pain and despair on his face. Following the derby catastrophe, brassed-off home fans jeered Hearts. It was reminiscent of seven days prior, when irate supporters abandoned them after witnessing them squander their chances of qualifying for the Euros against the Moldovan underdogs Petrocub.
When asked if there was a belief that the Jambos were too good for things to turn out well, Shankland said, “You need to be realistic. We’re in a position where the league would tell you that we’re not exactly a brilliant team.” Shankland believes they had every right to hurl the Boxing Day jeers and acknowledge that Hibs were the superior team.
“I believe the season would make that clear to you. We’re not working as a cohesive team at the moment. So we are where we are on the table because we deserve to be there and that’s the reality. Nobody is telling themselves a truth if they avoid that.
“Losing games, particularly a derby, is never easy. It’s the game you look forward to playing, and there’s a lot on the line. However, I believe a superior team most likely prevailed that day.
“There’s obviously frustration from the fans and I understand that. At the end of the game they displayed that frustration. That’s perfectly OK. Our supporters anticipate that we will win games, particularly derbies. The disappointment is immense. We are aware that
and I completely comprehend the annoyance and rage. Take that on the chin, please. Although it can be challenging at times, I felt that Sunday’s crowd was good. I believed we were behind them. This was not about the crowd swarming over us. That was not how I felt at all.”I didn’t feel like the crowd was bad at all, but derbies usually bring that buzz and it only takes a moment to change a crowd and get a lift.” We had them behind us.
Hearts will make their first use of Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool in January and Critchley admitted after the full-time whistle on Sunday that he knows exactly where he needs to strengthen his squad. Defensive reinforcements are needed with Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley sidelined by injury.
But there’s no doubt the priority has to be firepower. Shankland – entering the final six months of his own contract – wasn’t shying away from the need for more quality either. He said: “It can help, aye. Obviously you need quality. You need to recruit quality players that can bring a level that’s expected to perform at the football club. That’s what we need going forward. It’s up to the club and the management.
“We need to have belief that we can turn it around but we also need to find the quality to go and do it. You see the boys training, they can do it. It’s just bringing it to the match and that’s a hard bit and that’s where we’re struggling at the moment.”
Sunday’s trip to Dingwall takes on extra significance now with the Staggies two points above Critchley’s side in 10th thanks to an impressive win at Dundee on Thursday. Shankland’s goalscoring form, much like Hearts’, has fallen off a cliff in comparison to last season.
Just three goals from 26 games tells the story not just of the strikers’ struggles but also a team way too reliant on one man. Hearts bossed 67 per cent of the ball and had 15 attempts on goal against Hibs. But nobody needs to tell Shankland where the problem lies.
We’re not doing enough in the latter third to put teams under pressure, which is frustrating,” he remarked. Every week, goalies fail to make saves. Considering how much ball we have, we aren’t applying enough pressure to the opposition goal. That’s not what we’re doing or creating.
That is dependent on the people and quality levels we are assembling. Our quantity of crosses into the box has been really high in a lot of our recent games. However, we need to improve on the calibre of the through balls and crosses.
“Having the numbers and levels that we desire is acceptable.” For us to go and create chances and give ourselves opportunities to score, there must be that talent present. We want those players to be up there and put pressure on the team.
“We had a lot of possession against Hibs in the second half. However, this season’s stories are like that. We possess a We lack the genuine ability to go and put a side under pressure, but we do have a lot of the ball and get it into situations. Make their goalie make saves and force them to defend. We’re having problems since we’re not manufacturing that right now.
Leave a Reply