Hearts agree sale of James Penrice to AEK Athens

Hearts have agreed a deal with AEK Athens for the sale of left-back James Penrice.

It emerged on Thursday evening the two clubs had agreed a fee for the 26-year-old, who left the Jambos’ training camp in Spain on Friday morning to fly to the Greek capital.

A statement from the Scottish club on Saturday read: “Heart of Midlothian can confirm we have reached an agreement with AEK Athens for the transfer of James Penrice.

“The 26-year-old will join the Greek Super League side for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance and Scottish FA approval.

“Having made a huge impact at Tynecastle Park, James will now continue his career with a life-changing move to Greece, and everybody at Hearts thanks him for his time in Gorgie and wishes him the very best of luck in Athens.”

Recently-appointed Hearts boss Derek McInnes believes Penrice earned the right to such a lucrative move, with the deal reported to be worth around £2million, after excelling last season following his free transfer move from Livingston.

“We’d heard about the interest from AEK Athens (on Thursday), I spoke to James about it and at that stage, it was still a long way off in terms of the valuation,” McInnes said in a club interview.

“But later (on Thursday night), we believed that AEK Athens had met the valuation for the club, which is brilliant money back and a great opportunity for James.

“I’m just in the door and in an ideal world I want to work with him. I’ve wanted to work with him for a while. But sometimes you’ve got to be fair and you’ve got to be understanding of the situation.

“We took a boy for nothing. There’s been a lot of people who have done well with his development.

“Naisy (former manager Steven Naismith) was the one that brought him to the club and he deserves a lot of credit for that. But I think the boy who deserves the most credit is James. He was outstanding in a tough season last year.

“And from the outside looking in, before I became the Hearts manager, I always thought the boy could go again. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him. I think he was a bit shocked (when he found out the deal was on).”

The Jambos, meanwhile, are closing in on the signings of 23-year-old Burkina Faso attacker Pierre Landry Kabore from Estonia side JK Narva Trans and Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota, also 23, from Italian Serie C club Sambenedettese.