Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken expects Claudio Braga to remain at Tynecastle beyond Thursday’s Scottish transfer deadline, with the Belgian believing another full season in Edinburgh could improve the striker’s prospects of securing a major move.
Braga has attracted reported interest from clubs including Lyon, Ipswich Town and Trabzonspor after an impressive first campaign in Scotland. He scored 17 goals in all competitions last season and has contributed two goals and three assists in 10 appearances this term. ([archive.ph](https://archive.ph/2026.08.31-160207/https%3A/www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/five-hearts-players-trigger-transfer-interest-8950953?utm_source=openai))
Asked whether the 26-year-old Portuguese would still be a Hearts player when the window closes at 5pm on Thursday 3 September, Vrancken replied: “I think he will be here. I’ll bet on this.”
He added: “But you never know, so let’s hope that we can keep him because he has a lot of value for the team.”
Braga joined Hearts from Norwegian second-tier club Aalesunds last summer and quickly established himself as one of the club’s most important attacking players. Vrancken, who was appointed on a two-year contract in June, believes Braga could benefit from adapting to a different tactical approach before making the next step in his career. ([heartsfc.co.uk](https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/wouter-vrancken-appointed-new-head-coach?utm_source=openai))
“He’s important because he has quality,” said the Hearts manager. “He is also coachable and thinks about the team. He has the mindset that the team is the most important thing. For me, that’s an extra reason to want to keep him.”
Vrancken said a second season at Tynecastle could demonstrate that Braga is capable of performing consistently rather than succeeding only within one particular system.
“It can be a good thing for him to stay and show himself in a different style of play because the bigger teams are not looking for a player who does one good year in a certain style of play,” he said.
Hearts have undergone a significant rebuild during the summer, with Vrancken replacing Derek McInnes and 14 new players arriving after 12 departures. The Belgian said discussions over possible incoming and outgoing transfers would continue until the deadline.
“I would never say settled because I know what can happen in the last seconds of such a window,” he said. “We are discussing possibilities all the time, incoming, outgoing.”
Hearts travel to Easter Road for Thursday’s Edinburgh derby against Hibernian, with Braga’s immediate future still a subject of interest as the Scottish transfer window enters its final stages.
