Mendy set to boost Hearts' Kaunus quota in summer

HEARTS' recruitment of FBK Kaunas players is set to continue with Senegalese defender Pascal Mendy claiming he already has a contract to play at Tynecastle.

Following the arrival of five loan signings from Kaunas during the January transfer window, there are now a total of 13 players loaned to Hearts from the Lithuanian club. Mendy, 28,
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left Dinamo Moscow at the end of the Russian season and spent two weeks on trial at Riccarton in December with a view to a permanent move, however, work permit complications denied him the chance to join during the transfer window.

Vladimir Romanov, who finances both Hearts and Kaunas, signed Mendy to the Lithuanian club in the interim, where the centre-back expects to play until the summer before defecting to Edinburgh.

Should he fail to attain a work permit again, however, the outspoken Mendy says he would be tempted by a move to Paul Le Guen's Paris St Germain.

Speaking about his move out of Dinamo, Mendy revealed: "My transfer actually was not to Kaunas. I will be there only until all the papers are ready. Later I will move to Hearts, the team with which I already have a contract.

"Dinamo put me on the transfer list and want to sell me. Even if they suddenly changed their mind, I would never go back to Russia. Never. There always are problems in Russia. My only contract offer was from Hearts. But my dream is to play for PSG or any other club from France. I need to train more, play and I hope my dream will come true."

Romanov has midfielders Vyacheslav Hleb and Oleg Stahanovich in line for similar moves this summer after the Belarussian pair guested for Kaunas at last month's Commonwealth Cup in Moscow.

Ivanauskas was in Paris last night hoping to watch one of Hearts' most recent loan signings from Kaunas, Linas Pilibaitis, in action in the international friendly between Lithuania and Mali.

However Ivanauskas has moved to deflect pressure from the highly-rated Pilibaitis and is keen that the 21-year-old is not viewed by Hearts supporters as an instant replacement for Paul Hartley. "I couldn't say yes or no about whether Pilibaitis can replace Paul in the long term. If he adapts, then it's possible. But he must integrate into the team and into Scottish life. He is a big prospect but he is only a young boy. He had a serious knee injury when I was manager at Kaunas which kept him out for one year so he must be given time. We need more aggression in the team because Paul Hartley has gone.

"We need to find another way to keep the aggressive side of our game. I need a player on the pitch who can show the same movement and lead the team."

Taken from the Scotsman