Beslija: my dream move

MIRSAD BESLIJA is dreaming of starring for Hearts in the Champions League as he prepares to jet into Edinburgh to sign for the Tynecastle side.

Club officials will enter into contract negotiations with the Bosnian right winger and Yeovil Town midfielder Lee Johnson within the next 48 hours after agreeing fees for both players.

Hearts have beaten both Sunderland and Leeds United to Beslija after putting a firm offer to his Belgian club, Racing Genk.

A deal has also been reached with Yeovil for Johnson as Tynecastle head coach Graham Rix edges nearer his first signings for the club.

Johnson was likely to arrive in Edinburgh today to begin talks, and it is understood Beslija has initially been offered a three-and-a-half year contract by Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov after rejecting six-month loan moves to the Stadium of Light and Elland Road. The 26-year-old Bosnian internationalist is currently in Turkey with Genk on a winter training camp, but he is expected to fly to Scotland tomorrow to formally put pen to paper.

"I don't know any of the Hearts players at the moment, but I know of good players in the Scottish league like Thomas Buffel and Dado Prso. Maybe the next one can be me," said Beslija.

"I have much admiration for the English league, and I see Scotland as a step in between Belgium and England. Hearts is a club who could be playing in the Champions League or UEFA Cup, which is a big bonus for me."

Beslija can offer searing pace as his primary asset and has accumulated over 20 caps for his country. His signing could provide Hearts with a permanent fixture on the right side of midfield, an area which has proved problematical at times this season.

Johnson, described as an all-round central midfielder who can attack and defend, had his case trumpeted today by his father, Gary, the former Yeovil manager who signed his son for the Somerset club five years ago.

"I brought him to Yeovil after he had been at Arsenal as a kid and then Watford.

"He was only 20 at the time and it turned out to be a good club for him because we had some decent success and he was a major part of that," said Johnson Snr, now managing Bristol City.

"He's a passer who can pick people out and he's always looking to get on the ball. He will be extremely good value for money however much Hearts are paying. I'm his dad but I've been his manager for the last three or four seasons and the father-son thing never came into it.

"He did so well for Yeovil and he had the chance to move last year. The club turned down a couple of offers for him, but once Hearts came in that was the only place Lee wanted to go to.

"He has Scottish blood in him because his mother, Karon, was born in Glasgow.

"Once he heard Graham Rix was interested he just wanted to go because he knows he will enjoy working with Graham. And you never know, he might just have thoughts of a Scotland cap at the back of his mind for some point in the future."

Hearts were today preparing themselves for the worst over Lithuanian striker Edgaras Jankauskas, who is expected to be out for a number of weeks after pulling a hamstring in the Scottish Cup third-round victory over Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Hearts were drawn at home to Aberdeen in the fourth round.

Taken from the Scotsman