'I'll bet on this' - Vrancken backs Braga to stay at Hearts

Head coach Wouter Vrancken would wager on Claudio Braga remaining at Hearts and thinks a second full season at Tynecastle can enhance the striker’s chances of a big move.

“He is fully focused here, fully committed,” said the Belgian of the 26-year-old.

When asked if the Portuguese would still be at the club when the transfer window closes on Thursday, Vrancken added with a chuckle: “I think he will be here. I’ll bet on this.

“But you never know, so let’s hope that we can keep him because he has a lot of value for the team.”

Braga has scored twice and provided three assists in 10 outings this term while he hit the net 17 times during his first campaign in Edinburgh, having been signed from the Norwegian second tier.

“He’s important because he has quality,” said Vranken. “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.

“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.”

It has been a busy summer of change for Hearts, with Vranken replacing Derek McInnes and 14 new signings to compensate for 12 departures.

“I would never say settled because I know what can happen in the last seconds of such a window,” said the head coach of any late transfer activity before Thursday’s derby with Hibernian at Easter Road.

“We are discussing possibilities all the time, incoming, outgoing.”