Hearts keen to forge ties with German side

Csaba Laszlo believes he can bring some of Germany's most talented young players to Heart of Midlothian, after revealing yesterday that he has floated the idea of a partnership with Borussia Mönchengladbach when he visited the Bundesliga club last week.

The Hearts manager began his coaching career in Mönchengladbach's youth set up and wants to explore the possibility of recruiting players on loan but admitted he was “very active for next season to get young players to Scotland”.

Mönchengladbach are regarded as one of Germany's best clubs for youth development and have raised such illustrious names in the past as Günter Netzer, Rainer Bonhof, Lothar Matthäus and Stefan Effenberg. Their most recent prodigy, Marko Marin, a 19-year-old, has exploded on to the scene this season and has already been capped five times by Germany ahead of his lucrative switch to Bayern Munich this summer.

Laszlo would not be allowed to take any of the first-team squad on loan but Mönchengladbach's second string - an under-23 side - play in the fourth division and Hans Meyer, the manager, would probably be happier to see some players come to Scotland to expand their football education in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. German players usually move to Austria to gain experience abroad.

Laszlo, who met senior Borussia officials last weekend and watched their 4-1 league victory over SV Hamburg, is keen to develop a close relationship with Borussia's recently appointed sports director, Max Eberl. The Hearts manager believes loan deals and friendly matches will be possible between the two clubs and is due to hold discussions with Eberl this week.

“Maybe we can have a good collaboration,” Laszlo said yesterday. “They have a very young team and some very interesting players. They also have a very strong academy which produces many players with good football knowledge.

“My intention is to build a good relationship with them. Maybe we can get some players, maybe we can give them some players. To play in the Bundesliga is very interesting for any player, there is a fantastic infrastructure there. I think Germany has some of the best infrastructure in the world.

“It would be a big step forward to have good relations with Borussia Mönchengladbach, maybe organise friendly games. I think the relationship with the new sports director will be great. He knows I was there at the weekend and I met some people. I will call him back. I think this is the first great step in a new direction for us.”

If the proposal goes through, Hearts would become the first Scottish club to have an official partnership with a European club, although top English clubs have tie-ups with various sides in Belgium and the Netherlands, notably Manchester United (Royal Antwerp), Chelsea (KVC Westerlo) and Arsenal (Beveren).

Taken from timesonline.co.uk