Advertisement

Tony Bloom in Hearts talks as £10m investment from Brighton owner in pipeline

Brighton owner Tony Bloom is in talks over a deal with Hearts
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Hearts are in talks with Brighton owner Tony Bloom over a potential £10million investment, according to reports.

The English businessman also owns a sports analysis company named Starlizard and it is hoped that could revolutionise recruitment at the Tynecastle club. Terms of a possible deal are currently being discussed by Bloom and Jambos chiefs and the Edinburgh News reports the investment could be up to £10m.

If it goes through, Hearts would begin to use the recruitment analytics which have been utilised at the Seagulls and helped the Premier League side to being in tens of millions in transfer sales thanks to a successful player trading model. Bloom could secure a minority stake in the club in return, if Starlizard is used successfully.

READ MORE: Chris Sutton 'loved' Hearts pair's Celtic taunts as he picks moment of the weekend

READ MORE: Celtic vs Hearts penalty VAR calls pored over by Dermot Gallagher on Ref Watch

The capital club are currently majority owned by fan group the Foundation of Hearts after Ann Budge handed control to them, as was the plan after saving them from administration. FOH members would be required to vote in favour of the deal before it could go through, with 90 per cent of the vote required.

The initial plan is for Starlizard to aid the club in recruitment with specialist technology and that would help them navigate the January window and the ones following it. Unlike with Bournemouth owner Bill Foley's investment in Hibs, who have joined his Black Knight group, there would be no link-up with Brighton.

The Seagulls have made £175million in player sales over the last three years and that enabled them to spend more than £200m in the summer window just passed.

Standout deals include signing Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador for £4m and sellling him to Chelsea for £100m. While Alexis Mac Allister was signed for £6.9m from Argentinos Juniors traded on to to Liverpool for £35million. It would obviously be on a different scaled at Hearts but the hope would be that they could implement a similar player trading model and make themselves some money.

Bloom is also a minority shareholder in the Belgian side Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, who have gone from the second tier to challenging for titles and European football.