Kenneth Vargas

Kenneth Gerardo Vargas Vargas (born 17 April 2002) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Costa Rica national team.^[2]

Kenneth Vargas

Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Gerardo Vargas Vargas[1]
Date of birth	(2002-04-17) 17 April 2002 (age 23)
Place of birth	San José, Costa Rica
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Heart of Midlothian
Number	77
Youth career
0000–2020	Herediano
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2024	Herediano	55	(12)
2020–2022	→ Municipal Grecia (loan)	28	(5)
2023–2024	→ Heart of Midlothian (loan)	33	(6)
2024–	Heart of Midlothian	29	(4)
International career‡
2023–	Costa Rica U23	11	(5)
2023–	Costa Rica	18	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 June 2025

Club career

Herediano and Grecia loan

Vargas played for Municipal Grecia on loan from C.S. Herediano. After returning to Herediano, he scored on his senior league debut for the club, against Grecia, on 15 January 2022.^[3] He went on to score 10 goals in 41 appearances in the Liga FPD, the Costa Rican first division, in 2022.^[4]

Heart of Midlothian

On 7 August 2023, Vargas joined Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian on a season-long loan deal from Herediano, with an option to purchase outright.^[5]

Vargas was permanently signed by Hearts on 26 March 2024 on a five-season contract.^[6]

International career

Capped at under-23 level,^[7] Vargas received his first call-up to the Costa Rica senior national team in 2021.^[8] In October 2022 he was again called up to the national team set-up but didn't make an appearance from the substitute bench.^[9]

Personal life

His father, also called Kenneth Vargas and nicknamed “Huevo”, was a professional footballer in Costa Rica who played as a striker. Kenneth Vargas Jnr is subsequently nicknamed “Huevito”.^[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 May 2025^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Grecia (loan)	2020–21	Liga FPD	11	2	0	0	—		—		11	2
	2021–22	Liga FPD	17	3	0	0	—		—		17	3
	Total		28	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	5
Herediano	2021–22	Liga FPD	12	2	0	0	—		2[a]	0	14	2
	2022–23	Liga FPD	33	10	8	2	3[b]	0	8[a]	0	52	12
	2023–24	Liga FPD	0	0	0	0	—		1[c]	0	1	0
	Total		45	12	8	2	3	0	11	0	67	14
Heart of Midlothian (loan)	2023–24	Scottish Premiership	33	6	4	3	2[d]	0	3[e]	0	42	9
Heart of Midlothian	2024–25	Scottish Premiership	29	4	3	0	8[f]	0	1[e]	0	41	4
Career total			135	27	14	4	13	0	15	0	177	31

1. Appearance in the Liga FPD play-offs
2. Appearances in the CONCACAF League
3. Appearance in the Costa Rican Super Cup
4. Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
5. Appearances in the Scottish League Cup
6. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 9 September 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Costa Rica	2023	3	0
	2024	7	1
	2025	8	2
Total		18	3

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Kenneth Vargas

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 October 2024	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Guatemala	2–0	3–0	2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A
2	21 March 2025	FFB Stadium, Belmopan, Belize	Belize	3–0	7–0	2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification
3	9 September 2025	Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica	Haiti	1–0	3–3	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification