Kancelskis set to join Hearts as Hartley heads for exit

VLADIMIR ROMANOV will furnish Hearts with another loan signing when the FBK Kaunas captain Tomas Kancelskis secures a six-month move before midnight tonight.

However, the Lithuanian's arrival will coincide with Paul Hartley's departure in a deal worth around £1million to Romanov. The Scotland midfielder said his goodbyes at Riccarton this morning and expects to conclude a transfer to Rangers later today, although Celtic's willingness to intervene and match any offer from their city rivals could tempt Hartley.

Kancelskis has been training with Hearts on a trial basis this week and the club were today preparing to announce his capture along with that of the Ghanaian internationalist Laryea Kingston, who has been granted a UK work permit to move on loan from the Russian club Terek Grozny.

Both Kancelskis and Kingston will stay at Tynecastle until the summer, bringing Romanov's total number of transfer window signings to five.

Kancelskis, a 31-year-old centre-back, skippered Kaunas to the championship last year and is considered to be the Lithuanian equivalent of Steven Pressley due to his leadership and organisational skills. He was chosen ahead of his Kaunas colleague, Mindaugas Baguzis, for the move to Hearts due to his advantage in experience with 14 international caps for Lithuania.

Head coach Valdas Ivanauskas today welcomed the arrival of another of his compatriots, but remained coy on the details. "There is a possibility he will stay with us on loan," said Ivanauskas. "He came here on trial so we are looking at how good he is and how he can adapt to the team. We do not have very much time until the window closes." Kancelskis has already played for Hearts during a previous trial period, appearing as a substitute during the pre-season friendly with Osasuna at Murrayfield last July.

Kingston has agreed a three-and-a-half year contract at Tynecastle which will kick in should the club decide to exercise their option to sign him permanently at the end of the season. He could make his debut at Dunfermline this weekend.

Kingston's agent, Alexander Fedoseev, said: "We have the work permit so the negotiations are finished. I hope he will play in the next game for Hearts. He is fit now and I have no doubt he will be a key player for them.

Ivanauskas added: "His fitness is not bad. He has been training with us for two weeks and has a chance to play on Saturday."

Another trialist, Gogita Gogua, has been forced to return to the Russian club Spartak Nalchik after his work permit application was refused on appeal. At a meeting at Hampden Park yesterday, Gogua was denied a permit despite being a Georgian internationalist with 16 caps. Georgia's status as the 94th nation in the FIFA World Rankings table does not meet the criteria for work permit approval, which applies to countries inside the top 70.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Craig Gordon admits he is being kept in the dark about his future and will only leave the club if he feels it is in his interests. He said: "Hearts told me they were in the middle of negotiating my transfer. I've not heard anything since. I'm not aware of any interest from anybody. If the club know who it is then they're being very quiet and not said anything to me.

"If I'm going to leave Hearts it will be on my terms. I will only leave if it's right for me."

Ivanauskas admitted that Finnish striker Juho Makela is in the process of negotiating a move to FC Thun. "We are talking about the small details of the loan with the Swiss club but I think he will go there until the summer."

AS predicted by the Evening News last month, Christophe Berra has been called into the Scotland B Squad for next weeks friendly with Finland. Craig Gordon, Robbie Neilson and Paul Hartley are in the full squad for a gathering at Turnberry.

Taken from the Scotsman