Black agrees Hearts pre-contract as Laszlo admits interest in Lithuanian defender Fridrikas

BARRY ANDERSON
HEARTS have stepped up their transfer movements ahead of the forthcoming January window by agreeing to sign the Inverness midfielder Ian Black on a pre-contract, while manager Csaba Laszlo also admitted for the first time today that Mantas Fridrikas, the FBK Kaunas defender, is on his radar.
Black has verbally accepted a contract beginning next summer and running until 2012 which should be signed within a matter of days. His Inverness deal expires at the end of the season and he has already undergone a medical at Hearts' Riccarton training base.

The 23-year-old, a childhood Hearts supporter from Tranent, could become the focus of a January transfer bid from Tynecastle to avoid an awkward six months for all parties concerned. However, Inverness will demand a fee for Black's release which could reach six figures.

Fridrikas has been the subject of recent discussions between Laszlo and Vladimir Romanov. The 20-year-old Lithuanian Under-21 internationalist is regarded as one of eastern Europe's most promising centre-backs and is viewed by Romanov as a long-term replacement for Christophe Berra.

The Evening News first revealed in October 2007 that Fridrikas had been earmarked for Hearts but recent injuries have hindered his progress. Whether he arrives in January or at a later date is likely to be determined by the movements of Berra and Marius Zaliukas.

"I know the player, we spoke about him," said Laszlo. "We spoke this week with Mr Romanov and I have talked to his people to decide the best solution. We have a lot of possibilities but the most important point is we need a scorer. My focus is on strikers at the moment.

"We definitely need strikers. On Saturday I only had Jamie Mole. If you read the statistics from our matches, we are dangerous from any position but our strikers do not score many goals. We must look for a striker and if somebody leaves the club we can bring someone in.

"We will look at which players are free, who can play in our team and who can pass the test of the Scottish league. We need someone who can play straight away because in January you don't have time to build a team, like in summer."

Laszlo believes his forwards would benefit from specialist training. "I would also like a coach for the strikers," he continued. "I want to keep the team spirit and bring two or three players in to help us. January is a short transfer window and we have some names, but it depends if we can sell or not. If we buy it needs to be quality and definitely in the striker position.

Asked if he would look to Kaunas to supplement his striking quota, the Hungarian replied: "At the moment we are looking in other directions."

• LARRY KINGSTON has finished third in Ghana's footballer of the year awards behind Chelsea's Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari of Portsmouth.

Taken from the Scotsman