Hearts have confirmed Michael Steinwender will leave the club this summer, with the defender set to join VfL Bochum.
The Austrian centre-back will complete a move to the 2. Bundesliga side on July 1, subject to international clearance, for an undisclosed fee.
Steinwender departs Tynecastle just 18 months after arriving from Swedish outfit Varnamo in a six-figure deal, with Hearts understood to have secured a profit on the transfer.
The 22-year-old attracted interest from elsewhere in Germany’s second tier, but Bochum have won the race for his signature as they target a return to the Bundesliga following last season’s ninth-place finish.
Steinwender is believed to view the move as a step towards playing in Germany’s top flight.
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He made 47 appearances for Hearts, featuring at both centre-back and right-back, and played a supporting role in the club’s second-place finish last season.
The defender’s exit comes amid a summer of change at Tynecastle, with Hearts continuing to reshape their squad ahead of the expected appointment of Wouter Vrancken as head coach.
Lawrence Shankland has already joined Rangers, while Frankie Kent, Alan Forrest, Beni Baningime and Lewis Neilson have departed following the expiry of their contracts.
Further exits are expected, with Islam Chesnokov set to move on and Cammy Devlin’s future still unresolved as his deal runs down.
Hearts have brought in five new signings so far this window, with Sabri Guendouz and Tom Renaud expected to take that number to seven.
