Hearts midfielder Olly Lee looks set to exit Tynecastle just 12 months after signing a three-year deal with the Gorgie side, according to a report.
According to the Edinburgh Evening News, Lee is free to leave and will depart once he has secured a new club south of the border.
Hearts boss Craig Levein confirmed that he’s had talks with Lee about his future but insists the Jambos aren’t “forcing him out the door.”
“Olly and I are on the same page. We are talking about him moving back down to England if he can find something,” Levein told the Evening News.
“That’s a chat I’ve had with Olly and his agent so we will see what happens. He still has a contract here so it’s not like we are forcing him out the door. If he gets something, we will have a chat.”
Lee scored just three times in the league for Hearts last season but plays in an area of the pitch where Levein has plenty of options available.
Moving him on and freeing up some funds, if he isn’t going to feature regularly, makes sense from Hearts’ perspective and could allow Levein to strengthen elsewhere.
While it doesn’t appear that there is any specific move in the offing for Lee, it seems incredibly unlikely that he’ll still be a Jambo when the transfer window closes in September.