The rebuilding of Hearts – both on and off the field – continued today when the club announced the signing of Scotland international defender Christophe Berra. The 32-year-old – who made nearly 150 appearances in maroon during his first spell in Gorgie a decade ago – has signed a three-year deal.
Hearts fans will be delighted at the return of a player who was given his Hearts debut by the then Hearts manager Craig Levein in 2003. Berra was the mainstay of the Hearts team of a decade ago and indeed captained the club. He left for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009 for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.5m and most recently was at English championship side Ipswich Town. Berra was highly regarded not only at club level but at international level too and the Edinburgh born Hearts supporter has been capped 35 times for Scotland.
His return to Tynecastle comes as several players will be leaving Gorgie. As reported by The Edinburgh Reporter last night, Tasos Avlonitis and Alex Tziolis have already left the club. They were followed through the Tynecastle exit door today by Lennard Sowah, Andraz Struna, Moha Choulay and Dylan Bikey. These players signed short-term deals in January but their impact at Tynecastle has been minimal.
Berra will be seen as an important factor in the development of John Souttar with the pair expected to be at the heart of the Tynecastle club’s defence next season.
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
