Hearts set to sign Calem Nieuwenhof as Jambos fend off competition for Australian midfielder

Calem Nieuwenhof has been in impressive form for Western Sydney Wanderers.

The 22-year-old central midfielder has been one of WSW’s most impressive performers in the past 12 months and despite the A-League outfit pulling out all the stops to keep him at the club, The Scotsman understands that the transfer is at a very advanced stage and there are only formalities to complete. Nieuwenhof turned down a substantial wage rise to move away from his homeland and his arrival at Tynecastle will be viewed as a coup given fierce competition from clubs across Europe to sign him.

The capital club have an established scouting network in Australia and currently have three Socceroos on their books in defender Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson, plus midfielder Cammy Devlin. Nieuwenhof, who has also played for Sydney FC, has so far only represented his country at under-23 level, but is regarded as one of the league’s most promising midfielders.

Australian media outlet RBTV broke the news on Sunday, with a post on its Twitter account reading: “After much deliberation Calem Nieuwenhof is on the verge of a move to Hearts of the SPL. After an impressive season Calem wanted to further his career in Europe choosing Scotland as his next stop. Official announcement should follow suit.”

Hearts, who strengthened their goalkeeping department by signing veteran Michael McGovern on Friday, have been in the market for a new central midfielder following the departure of Orestis Kiomourzoglou to Greuther Furth and are expected to reinforce their squad in the upcoming week under new manager Frankie McAvoy, with right-back and centre-half understood to be priority positions.