Heart of Midlothian is pleased to confirm the signing of Austrian defender Michael Steinwender.
The towering defender becomes Neil Critchley’s third acquisition of the January transfer window.
24-year-old Michael joins from Swedish top flight side IFK Värnamo on a deal until the summer of 2028 for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance and Scottish FA approval.
A former Austrian youth international, Michael spent time in Rapid Vienna’s youth system before beginning his senior career with SV Mattersburg. Regularly featuring for their second side, he made his Austrian Bundesliga debut in 2020.
He spent the 2020/21 campaign at then top flight side St Polten, and with a full season of first team experience under his belt in Lower Austria would go on to join fellow Bundesliga outfit TSV Hartburg.
Michael helped Hartburg to consolidate their top flight status two years in a row, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Austrian Cup, and in his third and final season was part of the side that finished fifth, qualifying for the domestic European play-off where they would ultimately be edged out by Rapid Vienna.
In 2024 he made a mid-season move to Sweden’s Allsvenskan with Värnamo, where he would play his part in helping them to retain their top league status.
The 6’ 3” centre-half now swaps the south of Sweden for Scotland’s capital city, and the Head Coach is delighted to bolster his backline.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website, Neil said; “We’re really delighted to get this deal for Michael completed as it’s taken a lot of hard work from everyone at the club these past few months to bring him to Hearts.
“He is someone we have identified that we believe has all the attributes to be a success in the Scottish Premiership and in Europe. He already has several seasons of experience in Austria and Sweden and at the age of 24 he has the potential to develop further in his career.
“We are pleased with the work we have done so far to strengthen the squad in January and we are all looking forward to working with Michal in the future.”
