Alex Cochrane has left Heart of Midlothian to join Birmingham City on a four-year contract.
The 24-year-old initially joined Hearts on a loan agreement from Brighton in 2021. He then completed a permanent transfer 12 months later after impressing at left-back.
Over the course of his time with the Scottish Premiership club, he made a total of 126 appearances and found the back of the net on five occasions.
Cochrane labelled his Hearts exit as an opportunity that was too good to turn down, despite Birmingham's recent relegation into English League One.
He told his new club’s website: “It came about quite quickly, but I felt like it was too good an opportunity to pass on.
"The ambition of the club, speaking to people involved, what they want to achieve this season and where they see the club going, it's exciting. Especially for a young player like me who wants to go as far as I can in football. It's something that I'm really looking forward to.”
Read more:
- Ex-Celtic & Aberdeen favourite Jonny Hayes pens emotional retirement message
- Scottish FA confirm Rangers temporary stadium change as update given
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith told the Heart of Midlothian media team why now was the best time for the defender to depart Tynecastle.
“Alex has done really well for us since joining three years ago, and we’ve been really good for Alex so it’s no surprise that there was interest in him," he explained.
“We had a conversation a year ago about picking the right moment to move on, and how another good season at Hearts would benefit him. He’s shown a maturity to focus on his game, develop and do his best for the team.
“It’s important for the club that we are able to identify players who can take the team forward and, if the opportunity presents itself further down the line, we make a significant return on our investment.
“It’s one of the big appeals for players joining Hearts; challenging at the top end of the league and in latter stages of the cup, European football, international recognition and a platform to progress careers.
“It’s a good deal all round. It’s good for the club and it’s good for Alex. He leaves with our best wishes.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here