Hearts are busy trying to recruit players for next season as they look to replace some outgoing talents – such as John Souttar and Ellis Simms – while also strengthening the squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign where they’ll be fighting on four fronts with an extended European run.
Regardless of what happens, it’s highly unlikely to be as busy a window as the one the club endured in the summer of 2018.
Following a poor season in which Craig Levein came down from the director of football role to replace Ian Cathro as manager, the Hearts manager set about transforming the squad.
It worked for a period with the Gorgie Road side flying high at the top of the table before a combination of injuries and loss of form saw them finish sixth for the second consecutive campaign.
We look at where each and every one of those players is now...
1. Steven MacLean
The veteran striker spent a season-and-a-half at Tynecastle before moving to Raith Rovers on loan and retiring at the end of the 2019-20 season. He's now the manager of St Johnstone after being hired on a permanent basis following an interim spell when Callum Davidson was sacked. Photo: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group
2. Uche Ikpeazu
A popular player despite his lack of goal return, the striker was sold by Hearts in the summer of 2020 to Wycombe Wanders. After being sold to Middlesbrough for £1 million, and a spell on loan at Cardiff City, he moved to Konyaspor in the Turkish top flight. He is yet to score for his new side. Photo: Paul Devlin - SNS Group
3. Bobby Burns
Another who last two years before moving on in the summer of 2020 to Barrow. Now back in Northern Ireland with Glentoran. Photo: SNS Group Craig Foy
4. Jake Mulraney
Breaking the pattern ever-so-slightly, Mulraney left in January 2020 when Atlanta United agreed a fee with Hearts. He moved Orlando City before returning to his homeland of Ireland this past January with St Patrick's Athletic. Photo: Ross Parker - SNS Group