Pressure on Romanov to splash cash in January sales

IT WASN'T exactly a quiet 2005 for Hearts fans and the signs are that 2006 is going to get off to a fairly hectic start as well.

With the January transfer window set to open all eyes are on the Capital club to see whether major shareholder Vladimir Romanov sticks to his pledges.

Romanov has consistently said that all the best talent will remain and will be supplemented by additional quality since he began his maroon revolution.

Of course, with no Director of Football in place yet the question of who exactly is identifying these potential new recruits is still to be answered, but that's one for another day.

Head coach Graham Rix says he has already handed Romanov a long list of names he would like to see brought to the club while the Lithuanian banker is himself not adverse to throwing in his tuppence worth.

Who exactly is on this hit-list remains a mystery with nobody at the club willing to divulge the names that have been placed on it, although that hasn't stopped the rumours flying around the city.

Indeed, we can expect all the hype and speculation to go into overdrive.

One player who does appear to be high on the wish list, however, is Liverpool youngster Darren Potter. The right-sided midfielder has been the subject of frenzied speculation both north and south of the Border suggesting he will soon be added to the Tynecastle squad.

That area is certainly a problem position for the Jambos with neither Saulius Mikoliunas or Deividas Cesnauskis performing well on a regular basis, while Sammy Camazzola is not naturally suited to that wide role.

While there does appear to be genuine interest in Potter - talks are already understood to have taken place - the main question mark hangs over the fee involved and whether Hearts would be prepared to stump up the reported £750,000 to secure him.

Former Hibee Kenny Miller has also been linked with a move back north with Hearts believed to be an admirer of his talents.

Rangers' capture of SPL top scorer Kris Boyd would look to rule them out of the running for the Scotland internationalist and, Celtic and Hearts aside, it's debatable whether any of the other SPL teams would have the financial clout to match the terms he currently enjoys at Wolves.

Miller would certainly offer the Jam Tarts something they currently lack in that he is a penalty box player which neither Edgar Jankauskas or Roman Bednar appear to be.

While the strikers have performed well they have failed to hit the back of the next with the regularity that may have been expected of them and it's possible Miller could solve this problem.

The Jambos are also reported to be ready to rekindle their interest in Polish international playmaker Radoslaw Sobolewski, pictured below.

The Wisla Krakow star came close to being snapped up by former boss George Burley at the start of the season in a £400,000 deal only for the August transfer window to slam shut. However, the club are believed to have been keeping tabs on the player.

FC Teplice right-back Josef Kaufman and Moldovan internationalist stopper Yuri Priganiuc are others who have been linked with a move to Gorgie in recent weeks.

Of course there is every chance there will be players leaving Tynecastle as well, although the Hearts support will be hoping their high-profile names remain.

Burley's recent appointment as boss of Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Southampton is sure to start the rumour mill churning and

he will inevitably be linked to stars like Rudi Skacel, Paul Hartley, Andy Webster and Craig Gordon.

Of those names it's likely that Gordon would interest the former Ipswich manager most with regular Saints No.1 Antti Niemi seemingly poised for a move back to the Premiership.

However, it would take a sizeable offer for the Jambos to consider selling one of their prize assets and whether Gordon would be willing to leave at this stage, or whether Southampton could raise the funds to prize him away, is open to debate

Skacel, meanwhile, has been a revelation since joining the Jambos on loan from Marseille in August, banging in 14 goals from the left hand-side of midfield. His scintillating form since arriving in the Capital has brought him to the attention of several clubs although it's German giants Werder Bremen who appear to be Hearts' main rivals for his signature.

However, despite reports to the contrary, the Czech internationalist has signed a loan deal until the end of the season and therefore will not be departing before then.

And when the campaign does finally draw to a close in May the Tynecastle outfit have first option on the fans' favourite with a fee believed to be around £650,000 agreed.

Hartley also seems to be quitting the club on an almost weekly basis and despite statements from both the player and Hearts chairman Roman Romanov they just keep resurfacing.

They will no doubt continue to do so until the window finally closes but it's unlikely the Scotland internationalist to be wearing anything other than a maroon top anytime soon.

Southampton aside, Webster has also been linked with both halves of the Old Firm and with Celtic boss Gordon Strachan seemingly unhappy with the recent performances of towering centre-half Bobo Balde, it's possible he could see Webster as an ideal replacement.

The most credible story of a player leaving, however, surrounds Czech star Michal Pospisil and it was started by his own agent. Since the arrival of Rix as head coach the striker, who cost around £300,000 at the start of the season, has found himself very much stuck on the periphery of things and his agent Viktor Kolar revealed recently that his client would look to move if he wasn't involved more frequently in first-team games.

Kolar said: "If the situation at Hearts doesn't look good for him we could try to move him out on loan or something like that."

However, Pospisil was brought on as a substitute against Falkirk and scored the fourth goal in the 5-0 hammering and the player himself claims his representative's comments were taken out of context, although it could be a situation that rumbles on for a while yet.

But then you wouldn't expect anything else than drama at Tynecastle after the year that was 2005...

Taken from the Scotsman