Ahn won't wait much longer for Hearts

HEARTS are facing the prospect of missing out on Ahn Jung-hwan with the player's agent ready to initiate talks with other clubs chasing the South Korean.

Ahn is available for £500,000 from the German club MSV Duisburg and has suitors in both the English Premiership and Spain's Primera Liga but agent Tom Sanders insists his first-choice destination is Tynecastle.

Head coach Valdas Ivanauskas has attempted to keep the chance of a deal alive whilst seeking a definite answer from majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov. However, as Hearts continue to deliberate, Sanders is ready to call time.

He said: "I will have to begin talks with the other clubs now because I cannot keep waiting. Valdas knows this. He is very keen on Ahn but there is no definite answer from Hearts.

"Ahn wants to come to Hearts but there are two clubs in England and two in Spain who want to sign him and their pre-season is starting so they want him now."

Meanwhile, Steven Pressley has urged Hearts to maintain a home-grown presence in their side this season by allowing emerging talent to develop at first-team level. The club captain has been impressed with the application of youth-team products Christophe Berra, Calum Elliot, Lee Wallace and Andy Driver on the pre- season tour of Austria despite three foreign trialists arriving over the weekend.

Giorgi Popkhadze, a Georgian defender, Czech Republican Ales Urbanek and Portuguese Tiago Costa all delivered assured displays in Saturday's 3-1 friendly win over Spartak Trnava of Slovakia but Pressley is keen for Hearts to continue nurturing their own youth by granting them first-team exposure.

"The one thing we need to guard against is starving our own young players of the opportunity to play within this Hearts team," cautioned Pressley.

"I see an emergence of some very young but very capable talent at our club at the moment.

"On this trip we have Berra, Elliot, Wallace and Driver, who have all been smashing since we've been here. Driver was exceptional the other night against Spartak Trnava and I was very pleased for him. They have all worked as hard as anyone.

"There is a tendency in Scotland to always believe that the foreign players we bring in are better than our kids. I don't go along with that and I feel we have some excellent youth players here."

Although many sections of the Hearts support are awaiting an influx of signings at Tynecastle, Pressley is taking the more patient approach.

Ivanauskas has already declared his wish for new options to add depth to the first-team pool as the Champions League second qualifying round looms on the horizon. But Pressley remains convinced that the squad already in place is more than capable of upsetting both domestic and European opponents.

He added: "If we don't make too many signings in the summer, I won't see it as a big problem because our kids are ready to make a big impact this season."

Taken from the Scotsman