Heart of Midlothian is delighted to announce that Islam Chesnokov is now a Jambo.
The Kazakhstan international joins the club, subject to international clearance and Scottish FA approval, following the expiration of his contract at FC Tobol and has penned a deal until the summer of 2028.
26-year-old Islam is one of Kazakhstan’s hottest properties, lighting up both the domestic scene in his homeland and the international team.
A pacey and tricky right winger, Islam began his career at Altai Semey and made his professional debut in season 2019/20.
2021 saw a move to Belarus with Belshina Bobruisk, where he helped the side win promotion to the Belarusian Premier League before consolidating their top tier status the following season, totalling 11 goals and 11 assists across both campaigns.
He returned to Kazakhstan in 2023, joining Tobol where he immediately helped them silverware, scoring the winning goal in the Kazakhstan Cup Final.
2024 saw another trophy with the Kazakhstan Supercup. On a personal level, Islam gained European experience for the first time by participating in UEFA Europa League and Conference League qualifiers, and would go on to finish the club’s top scorer with 12 goals.
Islam continued the goal trail last season and made it a hat-trick of trophy successes, repeating the same feat as two years prior by scoring the winning goal, against the same opposition, in the Kazakhstan Cup Final. Tobol would finish third in the table, only five points off top spot.
In his three years with Tobol, Islam scored 29 goals and bagged 18 assists in 92 appearances.
Islam’s form over the years caught the attention of the national team, and in 2023 he won his first senior cap for Kazakhstan. He helped them reach the Nations League play-offs in 2024, and has gone on to win 22 caps, scoring three goals.
Highly sought after, Islam’s contract with Tobol came to an end before the turn of the year, and it was no secret that the Jam Tarts moved quickly to secure his services on a pre-contract. Following some well-deserved recuperation after the conclusion of the domestic season in Kazakhstan, Islam will now pull on the maroon jersey as part of the table-topping Jambos as Derek McInnes leads his side into an exciting second half of the season.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website, Derek said; “I’m really pleased that Islam is here, he’s a Hearts player and he’s raring to get started.
“Our desire to bring Islam in has been well documented and sometimes these things take a bit of time, but the dialogue between myself, the club and Islam has always been there. There was never any panic and everyone involved deserves a lot of credit for making it happen.
“He’s a very talented player and a good boy, and we think he can come in and help the team. We’re in a good place and we’ll do everything we can to enable Islam to be a success at Hearts.”
