Hearts make transfer call to former Celtic coach ahead of Hoops clash as Birmingham City exit set for approval
Celtic’s title rivals are in the hunt for reinforcements before Sunday’s Tynecastle top of the table clash.
Former Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies is set to offload one of his key men to Hearts just days before they face The Hoops.
The Birmingham City boss, who was Brendan Rodgers’ number two for nearly nine months, has given the green light for The Jambos to take on midfielder, Marc Leonard until the end of the season, with the move likely to be complete in the near future.
Leonard is no stranger to the Edinburgh side having been part of the academy setup in his teenage years, however the Scotsman made the move to Brighton in 2018. Since then, he’s always been south of the border, having been offloaded on loan twice to Northampton Town while at the Amex. He made his Blues move in the summer of 2024 and has since made 50 EFL Championship appearances.
Former Celtic coach aids Hearts’ injury crisis
According to Edinburgh Evening News: “Hearts are poised to secure Marc Leonard’s return to Tynecastle on loan from Birmingham City. The 24-year-old midfielder is preparing for a potential debut in maroon against Celtic on Sunday, provided his registration is completed on time. A loan deal until the end of the season has been verbally agreed between Tynecastle officials and counterparts at Birmingham”
The Gorgie side have had to act quickly in acquiring new additions due to their ongoing injury crisis. Cammy Devlin is out for six to eight weeks, while his right hand man Beni Baningime will be suspended for the Celtic clash. To add to this, record summer signing Ageu is also currently sidelined, alongside usual midfield mainstay Oisin McEntee.
The Leonard deal would show a real statement of intent from Derek McInnes ahead of one of the most important fixtures of the season. If Celtic were to lose at Tynecastle on Sunday, they would trail their Edinburgh rivals by nine points in the league table.
Hearts on hunt for further backup
McInnes isn’t stopping with Leonard in his hunt for midfield reinforcements, as the Hearts boss also has his eye on Forest Green Rovers captain Laurent Mendy. However Celtic’s title rivals have been told by Rovers boss Robbie Savage that he wants to hold onto his skipper.
He said: “he’s a Forest Green player as it stands. He's under contract for the next two-and-a-half years, so that's what it is. There's interest because he's an unbelievable player, a great talent. He's been with me for four-and-a-half years now. There's interest in him because of how well he's done.
“He's stepped up two levels and he's a brilliant individual. Of course, we knew there would be interest in all of our players. That's what we want at our football club, we want to improve and develop. There's no buyout clause and it's with my sporting director and my owner but, right now, Mendy is a Forest Green player.”