HEARTS boss George Burley will make Czech Republic internationalist Rudolf Skacel his first signing for the club.

The Marseille midfielder jetted into Edinburgh on Saturday and will put pen to paper on a one-year loan deal subject to passing a medical tomorrow.

And all going well the Hearts fans could get their first glimpse of the left-sided player in action during Wednesday night's glamour friendly with Middlesbrough.

Skacel has played at the highest level in Europe turning out for Marseille and Greek giants Panathinaikos, with whom he spent last season on loan.

He has featured in both the UEFA Cup and the Champions League where he lined up against Arsenal last term and will bring some much-needed experience to a young Hearts side.

"He is a versatile player who plays on the left and has also represented his country on a number of occasions," said Burley. "He has a good calibre and there is no doubt the boy is quality.

"Rudolf is the type of player that has the quality we need to bring in to improve the squad."

And Skacel's arrival could be followed by Lithuanian international striker Edgaras Jankauskas.

The 30-year-old currently plays for Porto but, after falling out of favour with the Portuguese club, he is available on a free transfer.

Like Skacel he has a fine track record having started his career in his native Lithuania with Zalgiris Vilnius in 1992.

His goalscoring exploits there won him moves to CSKA Moscow and Torpedo Moscow before a switch to Brugge where he enjoyed two seasons.

However, his big break came in 1999 when he moved to Real Sociedad and after again impressing he signed for Benfica four years ago. His form there persuaded rivals Porto to splash out £1.5million on him but things failed to work out and he spent much of last season on loan at French outfit Nice.

And after falling some way down the pecking order at Porto he has been told he is free to find himself another club.

Jankauskas flew into the Capital yesterday and was due to train with the Jambos today. If all goes well he too could join Skacel at the club.

"Jankauskas is over and we will have a look at him," confirmed Burley.

One player whose future is not yet clear is on-trial Frenchman Julien Brellier.

The 23-year-old, who was on the books of Inter Milan a couple of seasons ago, played for 45 minutes against East Fife last Thursday, started and played 76 minutes against Stirling Albion on Saturday and featured for the first half of yesterday's clash with Berwick Rangers.

Brellier will train with the Tynecastle club again at the start of this week with a decision on his future expected within the next few days.

"I thought Brellier worked hard over the weekend and it wasn't the easiest games for him to play in at times because our passing was often poor and we didn't have much going up front," said Burley. "But he did quite well.

"We have him for a week and we will make a decision next week."

Taken from the Scotsman