Published May 26, 2026, 7:10 PM GMT+1

Emilio is an experienced football journalist who has worked at Football FanCast for over six years.

After graduating with first-class honours from the University of Central Lancashire in 2019, it didn't take long for Emilio to clinch his first job in journalism at Snack Media, now Valnet.

Emilio has written for a host of the company's biggest past and current football news websites - Vital Football, The Transfer Tavern and Football FanCast. 

Emilio's strengths include the intricacies of football transfers, while he particularly enjoys writing about the business side of football. He has covered Tottenham Hotspur on a weekly basis for a number of years now, developing a deep understanding of the culture and what Lilywhites fans engage with.

In his spare time, you can find Emilio travelling the world, or even in a boxing ring.

The Jambos spent 250 days at the top of the Scottish Premiership, played the most exhilarating football the club has produced in a generation, and arrived at Celtic Park on the final day knowing a draw would be enough to seal a first championship since 1960.

They left Glasgow empty-handed.

Celtic's 3-1 victory — Arne Engels equalising from the spot after Lawrence Shankland's opener, then Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand striking late — ripped the title away in the cruellest fashion imaginable.

80 points, 250 days at the summit, and nothing to show for it.

Now, the man who led the line through all of that is leaving too.

Captain Shankland, who scored 20 goals this season and 88 across four remarkable years at Tynecastle, agreed a deal to join Rangers which has now been officially announced.

Sky Sports confirmed the move on Sunday — a two-year contract with an option to extend, triggered by a release clause in the new deal he signed only last summer.

For a boyhood Rangers supporter who spent the best years of his career making Hearts competitive again, the timing stings.

For the fans, losing their talisman to a direct rival so soon after the most painful afternoon in modern memory is a wound that will take time to heal.

Derek McInnes has work to do.

Hearts have qualified for Champions League preliminary rounds on the back of their outstanding campaign, and the squad needs reinforcing quickly if they are to mount another title challenge while navigating European football for the first time in over a decade.

Several senior players are out of contract, including Cammy Devlin, Beni Baningime, Frankie Kent, Craig Gordon and Alan Forrest.

St Johnstone winger Josh McPake has signed a pre-contract, and French midfielder Tom Renaud has committed his future.

But the departures outweigh the arrivals, and the gap left by Shankland alone would be enough to keep any manager awake at night.

The rebuild has started at the back.

Hearts make bid for ex-Tottenham prodigy Malachi Fagan-Walcott

According to Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke, Hearts have tabled a bid believed to be worth around £750,000 for York City centre-back Malachi Fagan-Walcott.

The 24-year-old Englishman has been one of the standout defenders in the National League this season, contributing eight goals and four assists in 36 league appearances for a York side who won the division and earned a spot in the Football League.

At 6ft 2in, right-footed and comfortable on the ball, he fits the profile of a modern centre-back who can defend aggressively and contribute in possession, all whilst being versatile enough to excel at full-back.

Fagan-Walcott came through the academy at Tottenham, spending five years in the youth system before spells at Cardiff City, Dundee and Dunfermline.

He already has experience of Scottish football — his loan at Dunfermline in 2024 produced three goals in 15 Scottish Championship appearances, and that familiarity with the game north of the border is understood to be a factor in Hearts' thinking.

York have him under contract until 2029, so they are under no pressure to sell.

However, a bid approaching £750,000 from a club competing in European competition would test any lower-tier English side's resolve.

Hearts also have interest in Lincoln City defender MJ Kamson-Kamara, suggesting McInnes is looking to add multiple options at centre-back this summer.

Replacing Shankland will be the bigger challenge, but shoring up the defence is a sensible place to start.