Hearts eye Australia Olympic defender and Jason Cummings' team-mate as Rangers-bound John Souttar replacement

Hearts will aim to add to the Tynecastle Australian contingent this summer with a move for defender Kye Rowles.

The 23-year-old centre-half is currently with Central Coast Mariners in the A-League where he is a team-mate of former Hibs and Dundee forward Jason Cummings and is in the latest Socceroos squad named by Graham Arnold.

Versatile Rowles can play at full-back but has mostly been utilised in the centre of defence and is highly regarded in Australia, heading to Qatar for the national team’s latest international where Arnold’s squad is aiming for World Cup qualification against United Arab Emirates. He was also part of the Olympic squad last year in Tokyo.

Robbie Neilson has already made two successful moves Down Under recruiting Nathaniel Atkinson and Cammy Devlin and now the pair’s team-mate in the Australian Olympic squad, appears to be next, according to our sister title – the Edinburgh Evening News, but a transfer fee may be required with Rowles contracted in New South Wales until next year.

It is a position where Hearts have reason to recruit with John Souttar heading to Rangers this summer and Taylor Moore returning to Bristol City.

Rowles has made more than 100 appearances for the Gosford-based club, winning the Mark Viduka award for his performance in last year’s Australian Cup final despite CC Mariners losing to Melbourne Victory. He began his football career in the Australian Football federation’s Centre of Excellence and spent a year with Brisbane Roar but is keen to expand his horizons with a move to Europe, potentially following Atkinson and Devlin to Edinburgh.