Flogel is heading for exit

HEARTS look set to part company with midfielder Thomas Flogel in the summer with the 30-year-old poised to rejoin former club Austria Vienna.

The Gorgie star has spent five successful years at Tynecastle but is one of a number of first-team players out of contract at the end of the season. With boss Craig Levein unable to offer any new deals at the current time due to the uncertainty of any proposed new television deal with the SPL, those individuals have been free to weigh up possible pre-contract agreements.

As revealed in the Evening News a month ago, Flogel has already had discussions about a probable move back to his homeland as he eyes a final big pay day, with Rapid Vienna also keen on his services.

However, it is his old club which is leading the race to secure his signature if, as seems likely, a new deal is not forthcoming at Tynecastle.

"I would like to stay and play another two or three years with Hearts, but there is also the possibility of going back to Austria for my family," he said.

"I would prefer to stay in Scotland. But I have had negotiations with Austria Vienna and they have made an offer to sign me.

"I would like to stay with Hearts but I cannot change some of the things that are happening financially here and I don’t want to put them under any more pressure. If they cannot come together with a contract for me, then I have to look somewhere else. Going back to Austria would be nice for my family - especially as my son does not really know our relatives there."

The 24-times capped Flogel won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998 and is keen to try to add to that silverware with the Jambos.

But he knows the financial situation at Tynecastle could force him to finally sever his ties with the Gorgie outfit.

"The offer from Austria is a good one but it’s not just about money. Everybody has known for some time that there are problems at Hearts with no more Sky money coming into the club. It’s hard to know what they can offer players for the next two to three years."

Levein stressed that nothing final had been decided regarding Flogel’s position but he insisted that, regardless of what transpires, he is unworried about the player’s attitude for the remainder of the season.

Robert Tomaschek, Steve Fulton, Stephane Adam, Tommi Gronlund and Ricardo Fuller are the other players whose deals expire at the end of the season but Levein revealed there is nothing fresh to report on their situations.

The Hearts boss, meanwhile, has extended the trial of 29-year-old Dutch internationalist Dries Boussatta.

Taken from the Scotsman