Hearts transfer news: Neil Critchley on futures of Kye Rowles and Lawrence Shankland, plus interest in Daniel Armstrong | Football news

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley expects to add more players to his squad this January, but admitted he could lose defender Kye Rowles.

MLS club DC United has shown interest in the Australian international who came to the Jambos in 2022 from the Central Coast Mariners.

Captain Lawrence Shankland’s future is also unclear as the Scotland striker enters the final six months of his contract; as well as teammates Craig Gordon, Zander Clark, Barrie McKay, Liam Boyce and Jorge Grant.

The Tynecastle club have already been busy this term, securing the permanent signing of former St Johnstone defender Jamie McCart and adding Elton Kabangu on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise. But what does the rest of the window hold for the club? Here’s what Critchley had to say Sky Sports News…

Can Rowles leave?

“Yes, there was (interest).

“In January you always want to bring in players but you always have to be prepared for ‘what if’ scenarios and people have the right to come and bid or negotiate with your players.

“Kye has been fantastic, he’s played almost every minute since I’ve been here and he would rightly attract suitors from elsewhere.

“We don’t want to lose him, but nowadays every player has a price.”

Will there be more departures?

“We talk internally about our strategy and our plan to move the club forward. Sometimes the players can talk for you on the pitch, they can answer the questions we ask internally by training well and playing well.

“They always have the ability to change your mind or cement what you already think by how they train and play every day.

“We’re looking to step up in January but we’re also looking ahead to the summer and hopefully in the next few months the picture will become clearer in terms of what we want to do.

“There’s been a lot of talk about (Lawrence) Shankland’s contract situation, all I can say is he’s the captain here and he’s been brilliant in my time here.

“He gave everything for the team, he leads by example and I’m overjoyed that he’s here. I’m happy as long as it lasts.”

Are you expecting more signatures?

“Any head coach would tell you that he is always trying to improve the team and we are no different.

“We did a great bit of work at the start of the window which helped. I’d still be surprised if the squad is the same by the end of January.

“I’m not going to talk about players from other clubs. Of course I’m aware of Danny Armstrong because he was at Kilmarnock and he played in this league for a number of years and he did very well.

“We want to improve our squad, we’ve identified areas of the pitch that we want to try and strengthen, but it would be wrong of me to talk about a Kilmarnock player.”

Can Kabangu feature against Aberdeen?

“He got his work permit so he’s eligible to play. He’s here training with us so he’ll be in contention for the squad at the weekend.

“He’ll bring another dimension to our front line. Mobility, athleticism, ability to stretch the line and he’s a scorer.

“I think he will add something different to what we have up front. But the last few games we have been in good form and we have won a few games, so he has fought his way into the team as well.”