Hearts eye bright new Icelandic rising star

ICELAND'S most prodigious young talent, 15-year-old Ingolfur Sigurdsson, has been recommended to Hearts, the Evening News can reveal today.

National coaches at the Icelandic FA consider the left winger as an impressive product of their country's youth system and he is attracting attention from English Championship club Reading, as well as Heerenveen in the Netherlands and Aalesunds FK of Norway.

Hearts have been made aware of Sigurdsson's potential by Olafur Gardarsson, the agent of the club's current Icelandic players Eggert Jonsson and Haraldur Bjornsson.

Sigurdsson is already an under-16 internationalist with Iceland and is contracted to KR Reykjavik, currently fifth in the country's top league, the Landsbankadeild Karla. He is unlikely to leave KR this year but will assess his options in January with a view to moving, preferably to the UK.

Gardarsson told the Evening News today: "There is interest from many clubs but he is going to stay in Iceland this winter and think about moving next year. He is contracted to KR, he has not met with Hearts or done any training and I would not like to say which other clubs are interested.

"He is a terrific young boy, left footed with good pace. He is open minded about where he could go next year."