Hearts confirm 'instrumental' Tynecastle figure to leave this summer as contract update emerges on six others
Hearts have confirmed their retained list following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.
Hearts have confirmed that first team players Frankie Kent, Alan Forrest, Beni Baningime and Lewis Neilson will depart Tynecastle this summer, but haven’t given up hope of retaining one of their key men for next season.
The Scottish Premiership runners-up revealed that the aforementioned quartet would not have their deals extended, and wished them well moving forward. However, fellow out-of-contract pair Cammy Devlin and Craig Gordon were not included in the released list, with Derek McInnes’s side mulling over the future of the duo.
Having already confirmed the departure of talismanic captain Lawrence Shankland to Rangers on Tuesday, the club are now pressing on with plans for next season. St Johnstone playmaker Josh McPake has already committed his future to Hearts, signing a pre-contract agreement, while the club confirmed the arrival of MJ Kamson-Kamara from Lincoln City earlier today. The club are also pressing on with deals for Tom Renaud and Malachi Fagan-Walcott. Elsewhere, January signing Islam Chesnokov has been linked with a move away in recent days.
As per a report from the Edinburgh Evening News, talks are ongoing between Devlin and Hearts. It is believed the player is open to extending his contract with the club, despite interest from several clubs in the United States. However, both parties are still some way apart in discussions over a new deal. Currently training with Australia ahead of this summer’s World Cup across the pond, Tynecastle chiefs are yet to concede defeat on their bid to keep him at the club beyond the summer after his outstanding performances in the 2025/26 season.
Meanwhile, veteran goalkeeper Gordon is also currently on international duty as he prepares for Scotland’s pre-World Cup friendly against Curacao at Hampden Park on Saturday. The 43-year-old made just three appearances last season, but has been named in Steve Clarke’s squad for the tournament, which begins in June. The goalkeeper is understood not to have made a definitive decision on whether he’ll retire after the World Cup.
The capital club have also confirmed that long-serving goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher will leave the club at the end of his contract this summer. Moving to Tynecastle in 2016 in a player-coach capacity while under the management of former boss Robbie Neilson, the 46-year-old completed a decade of service this season in Edinburgh.
However, the club have now confirmed he will move on at the end of the statement, with a short statement on the website thanking him for his contribution to the club, noting that he had been “instrumental in improving the next generation of Hearts goalkeepers, including Jack Lyon, Harry Stone and Liam McFarlane.”
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