Aguiar set to pledge future to Hearts

BARRY ANDERSON
BRUNO AGUIAR is ready to pledge his future to Hearts by signing a contract extension beyond the end of the season. The player's agent, Paulo Barbosa, has been in negotiations with Anatoli Korobochka and Vladimir Romanov and is confident his client will remain at Tynecastle.
Aguiar's current contract is due to expire this summer but, despite interest from England and the continent, he is settled in Edinburgh.

The Portuguese midfielder feels indebted to Hearts for helping him rehabilitate following ankle ligament damage which robbed him of 18 months of his career between 2007 and 2008.

Negotiations on a new contract have yet to be concluded and Barbosa refused to reveal the exact terms being discussed. Aguiar reportedly earns a basic wage in the region of £8000 a week but his agent is confident of successfully brokering a new deal.

"I have spoken with Hearts and I think it's possible for Bruno to stay. I don't think wages will be a problem," said Barbosa.

Manager Csaba Laszlo watched Aguiar storm up the tunnel after substituting him against Inverness on Saturday but outlined his admiration for the player today, labelling him "naturally gifted".

"I would like to keep Bruno if it's possible. He is an important part of the team," he said.

"I know his contract is finishing but if it's possible, and if Bruno wants to, we would like to get a new contract finished. Everybody can see that Bruno can help the team if he is fit. Also we can help him, he has been a talented player all his life because he is naturally gifted. He has not spent a long period of time with one club because he has been on loan many times from his old club (Benfica].

"For Bruno, he must look to find a team and a coach who can help him in the long term," Laszlo went on. "This is what we want to do for Bruno and this is my wish. We must talk with the player but he must decide what is best for him. I want Bruno to think about these things. When Bruno is in the team he can make the difference."

Hearts, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for a £10,000 SFA fine for indiscipline following a review meeting at Hampden. In July, the Edinburgh club paid £30,000 of a £40,000 penalty after having nine players red carded and 81 cautioned last season, with the remaining £10,000 suspended pending improved on-field behaviour. Following the recent sending-offs of Marius Zaliukas and Lee Wallace at Pittodrie, Hearts' have incurred seven dismissals this season and the SFA is now expected to mete out the rest of the penalty.

Taken from the Scotsman