Hearts put hand on Bulgarian teen star

TEENAGE Bulgarian striker Branimar Kostadinov, regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Europe, has revealed he is set to pledge his future to Hearts.

The youngster, currently on international duty with the Bulgarian under-17 side, was being coveted by a host of top teams but the Jambos look to have beaten off competition from Manchester City, Lens and Celtic.

The 17-year-old spent three weeks on trial with Hearts at the end of December and beginning of last month and impressed coaching staff at the club's Riccarton complex immensely. While most of the focus has been on Vladimir Romanov's big-money buys during the January transfer window, the likely capture of Kostadinov could yet prove to be the biggest coup.

One piece of red tape, currently being worked through, is that due to Kostadinov's age and the fact he comes from a non-EU country, he must be enrolled at either a school or college.

However, he has given the club assurances that he wants to join and, despite a late phone-call from Bulgaria captain Stilian Petrov to persuade him to join Celtic, Kostadinov has his heart set on Edinburgh.

"I discussed all the offers with my father, my agent and men with a lot of experience in the game and we made an agreement that, if all the terms offered were the same, then the final decision would be mine," Kostadinov said.

"There were offers from Lens, Celtic and Man City and I flew to talk with these clubs but they wanted me to remain in Austria where I've been playing for one more year before moving permanently. I didn't want that.

"In Austria, I have the chance to work in excellent conditions and with very good specialists but I had my reasons for wanting to leave although I will keep them to myself for now."

Kostadinov first came to Hearts' attention while featuring in a tournament in Belgium last year.

Youth academy director John Murray spotted his obvious talent when he scored twice for Bulgaria's under-17s against Austria and, within minutes of the match ending, the Jambos had registered an interest in the pacey frontman.

Ex-Aberdeen defender John Inglis, who played for Levski Sofia for 18 months and now works as a football agent in Bulgaria, has been key in negotiating a deal between the parties.

With his help, Kostadinov travelled to Scotland and spent a trial spell in Edinburgh.

Kostadinov added: "Hearts contacted my father with help from John Inglis and we met with the people from the club. After seeing what they had to offer I knew that I wanted to play there.

"The supporters there are very passionate and that is one of the reasons I wanted to go there.

"The manager Graham Rix also seems to know everyone, even the young players, and he always gave words of encouragement which was nice."

Hearts are still conducting ongoing negotiations aimed at secured the 17-year-old Australian midfielder Matthew Park on a long-term contract, however Canadian trialist Joey Mello has not been offered a deal.

Youngster David Galbraith remains a Hearts player despite strong interest from Manchester United. Dialogue between Old Trafford officials and Hearts continues with the 16-year-old keen to head south.

Taken from the Scotsman