Edinburgh Live have reported that Cardiff City midfielder Loic Damour is in talks over a move to Hearts.
The midfielder is not thought to be in Neil Warnock’s plans for the season ahead. Although the Championship transfer window has now shut, Damour can still move clubs.
It could be Tynecastle where the Frenchman ends up. Would he be a decent addition though?
Damour adds steel to the Hearts midfield
With Peter Haring out injured and Arnaud Djoum no longer at the club, it’s well documented that Hearts need reinforcements in midfield.
They need a good CDM who can come in and fill a gap whilst Haring is out on the sidelines with a pelvis issue.
Can Damour do the job? He is still a Cardiff City player and has played a part in their pre-season activities. What he will lack is competitive match sharpness, having not played a single minute since January.
Whilst it may be easy to be blinded by the fact he was a ‘Premier League player’ last term, that stretches the truth a bit. He was, but Damour only appeared on two occasions.
Could Damour contribute to the team? For one he has great athleticism and is willing to put in a shift for his team.
He isn’t rapid, but the Frenchman isn’t slow either. Sadly, his physical attributes are better than his technical ones.
Damour’s passing is questionable, with 68% of his passes hitting their intended targets during 2017/18 according to WhoScored. He also didn’t contribute much to the attack, with just 0.2 assists per game in the 17/18 campaign according to WhoScored.
His tackling isn’t exactly great either. It sometimes lacks that bit of bite that could take the ball away from an opponent.
So would Damour be a decent signing? It would be unfair to write him off just yet. Damour does have some decent qualities, but there are areas where he has to improve, big time.
This would be a bit of a risky signing for Hearts.