Scottish Premiership giants Hearts consider making a bid for Nigerian striker Kalu

SCOTTISH Premiership giants Hearts are looking to sign Nigerian striker Johnbosco Kalu from Swedish side Värnamo during the forthcoming January transfer window in a desperate drive to stave off looming relegation.

Hearts have historically been one of the colossuses of Scottish football, being the largest club in Edinburgh, sharing the city with rivals Hibernian. This year, however, the club is in dire straits as rather than offering the usual challenge to Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic at the top of the table, Hearts are 11th in the 12-team league.

With relegation staring them in the face, Hearts know they have to bolster their squad this January, especially upfront where they have only scored 25 goals compared with say the 34 of across town rivals Hibernian. According to online football portal Fotboll Direkt Värnamo want something in the region of £400,000 for Kalu before they release him.

However, the Edinburgh club are likely to face competition to sign the 27-year-old as media reports from Sweden indicate that Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem have already made an offer for the player. This offer was apparently rejected because Värnamo considered it insufficient but a fresh bid may be presented again

Kalu is reportedly keen to find a new club which can only give Hearts and Beitar Jerusalem encouragement to sign him during this window. Considered an up and coming striker, Kalu made 17 appearances in the recently concluded Allsvenskan season, scoring seven goals and providing one assist and is contracted to Värnamo until December 2026.