Exclusive: Hearts agree Stuart Findlay loan-to-buy deal with Oxford.

Hearts have agreed to sign Oxford United defender Stuart Findlay on loan, according to Football Insider sources.

Findlay, 29, has spent the last two seasons on loan at Kilmarnock, and new Hearts manager Derek McInnes is eager to reunite with him at Tynecastle. The Scotland international will join Hearts on loan with the option to buy after the two teams reached an agreement. Celtic Academy Product Findlay joined Oxford from Major League Soccer club Philadelphia in 2022, however he has only made 44 appearances for the U’s.

Hearts agree Findlay reunion with McInnes

He agreed to a two-year loan return to Kilmarnock in 2023, making 24 appearances in all competitions for the club in 2024-25. The former Newcastle player has 179 appearances in the Scottish Premiership and has also played in European qualifying. Findlay is primarily a centre-back but can also play as a left-back. Hearts finished eighth in the Scottish Premiership season 2024-25, leading the relegation group after winning their last four games. McInnes has replaced Neil Critchley at Tynecastle, who was fired in April after only six months on the job.