Even if competent, having change of heart over appeal (6)
I believe the answer is:
albeit
'even if' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'competent having change of heart over appeal' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'appeal' could be 'it' ('it' can mean something attractive or appealing) and 'it' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'albe' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for albeit that I've seen before include "Although, since" , "'Even if, although (6)'" , "Even though" , "A literary although" , "Although, inasmuch as" .)