EVERYTHING Hearts do has a decreasingly subtle Lithuanian tint to it these days.

That is precisely how owner Vladimir Romanov wants it to be. He owns the most shares, his banking company are the club's main sponsors and debt servicers, and even when they unveil a new kit its manufacturers are the most popular producer of sporting goods in the Baltic state.

Romanov also loans Lithuanian players to Hearts, the total of which rose to three with yesterday's capture of the imposing striker, Edgaras Jankauskas.

True to form, the player's official registration is held by Romanov's other club, FBK Kaunas, the same as the other eastern Europeans currently lending themselves to the cause in Gorgie - David Cesnauskis and Saulius Mikoliunas.

Now, let us get one thing clear at this point. Acquiring the services of Jankauskas, if only for the season-long loan period to which he has agreed at this stage, is a fine piece of business by Hearts.

Surely not even the ruthlessly ambitious Romanov could have imagined deep in the pit of his stomach being able to lure his country's most luminary footballing figure to Hearts so early in the tenure of his ownership.

True, it was Arminas Narbekovas and not Jankauskas who was named by the Lithuanian Football Federation two years ago as the country's greatest player of the last 50 years. But, now 39, even Narbekovas would be struggling to get a game for Hearts, and as the first Lithuanian to appear in Spain's Primera Liga when he joined Real Sociedad in 1999, Jankauskas is presently the national footballing figurehead.

He stands at 6ft 4in and well over 13st. More importantly to Romanov, he represents the single biggest indication, literally and metaphorically, of the domineering Lithuanian influence currently coursing through Tynecastle. As if another reminder was required. Manager George Burley seems utterly unperturbed, and so he should, for as a cultured football coach he recognises that, regardless of nationality, potentially one of Europe's most prolific marksmen is now at his disposal.

Jankauskas has played and scored for Torpedo and CSKA Moscow, Club Bruges in Belgium, as well as Sociedad and Benfica. Perhaps crucially, he absorbed much of the footballing philosophy of Jose Mourinho with his last club, FC Porto, collecting a European Cup winner's medal along the way as a dedicated pupil of the Portuguese coaching master.

Not too many have that kind of gong around Tynecastle, and nor are there likely to be many in the near future. As yet we are unaware of any prospective attempt by Romanov to replace Neil MacFarlane in midfield with Steven Gerrard, so Hearts are correct to make the most of Jankauskas while they have him.

And if he makes the most of them this season with the goals that could earn a money-spinning return to one of Europe's top leagues, Romanov will be laughing all the way to ... well, his office at Ukio Bank's headquarters.

"This is one of the big days in my career," said Jankauskas. "I have seen many television cameras and newspapers here, and that gives me the impression that Hearts are taken very seriously in this country. I am used to being taken seriously after playing under Mourinho.

"I spent two years under him and he taught me many things. He is a very good manager and he brought a lot of success to Porto. He is able to get inside your mind, and that is his secret. He works with the group of players together and they all like him. I certainly did. All the players, even those who are not playing very much, still warm to him.

"He makes his squad very united," added Jankauskas, demonstrating a clenched fist to illustrate his point. "He demands respect and he respects his players as well, that is why we had such good spirit under him in Portugal. It is that which allowed the team to be so successful."

When Mourinho departed for Stamford Bridge after callously detaching his own Champions League medal from his neck in Gelsenkirchen in May 2004, Jankauskas concluded it was also time for change and saw out the remaining 12 months of his Porto contract on loan at French club Nice before becoming a free agent in the summer.

Formulating a complex deal to tie the player, who has over 40 international caps, to Kaunas and Hearts at the same time would have taxed Hearts' chief executive Phil Anderton as much as Romanov and his directors in Lithuania.

Now Jankauskas assumes the Hearts No.9 shirt vacated by Lee Miller, a striker with a style not dissimilar to his successor, for Saturday's opening game of the season at Rugby Park.

"The work we have done under George Burley in the week I have been here has been very exciting and interesting," said the 30-year-old. "I am delighted with that. I only want to play well for Hearts and score goals for them.

"It would be nice for me to score a lot of goals here, but I am not interested in just being a hero. I am going to try to adapt here and I think the football in Scotland will suit me. If the ball is played high I am not afraid. I will attack it and fight for it. I don't see it being a problem."

Not many at 6ft 4in would. Burley certainly sees merits in tossing the player in at the deep end, and has already promised Jankauskas a starting slot in his attack for the weekend after seeking out Mourinho for information on the Lithuanian. "Edgaras was a player we were aware of from Porto and it looked like they were going to release him," said Burley. "When that eventually happened we got him over to assess his fitness and he impressed me against Middlesbrough and Hull City. He has shown me enough and his CV tells its own story.

"He was one of the names I had in mind when I came to Hearts and I am delighted to get him here. Whichever side you pick needs balance, and Edgaras is good in the air, has a nice touch and scores goals. He is one of these players who, if he is right in the mind, if he is fit and if he is hungry, can be a top-class player."

That's a lot of ifs, but if Romanov was the con man some perceive him to be then he would not be bearing the financial brunt of bringing players like Edgaras Jankauskas to Edinburgh. The man mountain has arrived, and Hearts had to move some mountains of their own to get him. It should be worth it.

Taken from the Scotsman