Hearts to complete signing of Arnaud Djoum

Robbie Neilson is also considering a move for Jerome Thomas. Picture: SNS

The Edinburgh club are also running the rule over former West Bromwich Albion and England under-21 winger Jerome Thomas who has been released by Crystal Palace.

Djoum was offered a contract over the weekend and has agreed to sign a short-term deal until the end of January. The move remains subject to international clearance but will offer head coach Robbie Neilson greater depth in the central berths, where he wants to stimulate improved competition for places as his team re-acclimatise to life back in the top tier of the Scottish game.

The 26-year-old formerly played for Anderlecht before moving on to the Netherlands, Turkey and then Poland but he has been a free agent since leaving Lech Poznan two months ago.

However, he showed enough in his trial period to convince Neilson to give him a chance, with the club expected to confirm the signing today.

“We have offered him a deal and we are not to far away,” Neilson said yesterday. “It is down to him and whether he is happy to come.”

Having been offered a short-term deal he had returned home to discuss matters with his family before deciding to give it a go.

“He’s a good player and there are guys like that who become available. They’re out of contract and they wait and they wait,” Neilson said earlier in the week. “He’s got a good CV, good experience and he speaks good English. He’s fitted into the group well so I think he’ll be a good addition.”

With Djoum already enlisted, the management team are now looking at 32-year-old winger Thomas who is a friend of Hearts striker Osman Sow and is training with the Tynecastle squad in the hope of impressing Neilson.