Chinese Super League squad Henan Jianye FC had signed Swedish striker Osman Sow on Tuesday at an undisclosed transfer fee from Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian Football Club.
The 25-year-old Sow was the second foreign player acquired by the Red Devils during the Chinese winter transfer window after Australian defender Ryan McGowan, who had previously played for another CSL squad, Shandong Luneng, for two seasons in 2013 and 2014, as reported by Xinhuanet.
Sow and McGowan join the three other resident international players in Henan's roster namely, Eddi Gomes of Denmark, Javier Patino of the Philippines, and Ivo of Brazil.
Sow, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, began his senior career with his youth club FOC Farsta, a division 4 squad in Stockholm, in 2007. He then moved to Swedish second division team AFC United in 2011 before stints with Moldovan club FC Dacia Chișinău and another Swedish Superettan squad Syrianska FC in the following two years.
His most high-profile club was with English Premier League side Crystal Palace during the 2013-2014 season. He was signed by the Eagles in September 2013 off a free transfer and was given a one year contract.
However, his stint with the Selhurst Park residents was not fruitful as he did not manage to have any first team time with the club because of injuries. He spent most of the season as a reserve or in the injured list, which made Palace eventually waive him at the end of the said season.
Sow was signed by Hearts to a two-year contract in July 2014 after two successful friendly try outs versus East Fife and Manchester City. He spent two seasons with Hearts, appearing in a total of 51 games in all competitions and scoring 23 times, the most productive he has been in his whole professional career.
"I really enjoyed my time at Hearts and I'm proud that I was able to help the club back up to the top of Scottish football," said Sow, as reported by SkySports, citing the club's website Hearts News. "I'd like to thank Robbie (Nelson, head coach), Craig (Levein, director of football), and all the coaching staff for giving me the chance to come over and play regular football, and the boys for being great teammates."
"I'd also like to thank the fans who were tremendous with me and never stopped supporting us. I wish Hearts all the best and hope the club continues its rise to the top," he ended.