Capital rivals still lack final piece of jigsaw

Published on Friday 10 July 2009 22:54

CSABA Laszlo has signed two defenders and two midfielders and is still on the lookout for two strikers. John Hughes has bought three midfielders and wants to recruit a goalkeeper.

Both men, the managers of Hearts and Hibernian respectively, have lost a couple of players they would have liked to keep, and said goodbye to others with little or no regrets.

Laszlo's greatest need, as it was last season, is for a striker who can score more than a handful of goals. Hughes' biggest problem, following the departure of Rob Jones this week, is how to reshape his central defence.

The two have said they want to strengthen their squads further, but nothing is ever certain in the transfer market.

Even if their employers grant them the funds, Laszlo and Hughes may not be able to attract the players they want.

If that is the case, and the managers have to make do with the squads currently at their disposal, what would their teams look like as they lined up for the first game of next season – or indeed for the first Edinburgh derby?

As there is likely to be some movement in or out of both Tynecastle and Easter Road over the next month, this may look like an academic exercise. But it does give an indication of how far each man has gone to compensate for the losses his club has sustained. And of course it highlights the areas he needs to sort out if his team are to look competitive.

Laszlo has recently been deprived of three of his most experienced players in right-back Robbie Neilson, centre-back Christos Karipidis and midfielder Bruno Aguiar. That was in addition to the loss at the start of the year of captain and central defender Christophe Berra to Wolves – a loss which he was not able to offset by making a new signing in January.

Since the season ended, the Hungarian has dealt with all four issues. He has signed Ismael Bouzid and Dawid Kucharski, apparently as a partnership in central defence. He has agreed that Eggert Jonsson should at last stop being a victim of his own versatility and concentrate on playing at right-back. And he had already anticipated the loss of Aguiar by signing Ian Black on a pre-contract from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

In addition to those recruits, Laszlo has also signed Jesus "Suso" Santana from Tenerife. It remains to be seen if the winger is a replacement for Andrew Driver, who continues to attract attention from Burnley among other leading English clubs, or if he will vie with David Obua for a place in Hearts' starting line-up.

If Driver stays, he and Suso could form the flanks of a five-man midfield in which Black plays in a central position ahead of Michael Stewart and Ruben Palazuelos. Laryea Kingston would also be an option as the most advanced midfielder, but his injury problems have dragged on. The Ghanaian does not appear to be part of Laszlo's plans, and once fit he may well be sold.

The manager is by no means wedded to a 4-5-1 formation, and the primary reason for its adoption last season was a lack of reliable strikers. If Laszlo is able to recruit a couple of target men, he will at least be able to give more careful consideration to switching to a 4-4-2.

In Christian Nade, Calum Elliot and Gary Glen he already has three out-and-out strikers. But he does not think Glen is ready for a long run in the first team, and he has not been able to rely on the other two to the extent of starting them both together. If he can sign at least one reliable front man to be a regular starter, he can then alternate Nade and Elliot, or at times start with one and have Glen on the bench to come on for a 20-minute spell late in the game.

Across the city, Hughes has lost his two most important players, Jones and Steven Fletcher, within days of each other. Both defender and striker will be hard to replace, but the former Falkirk manager at least has the personnel there to take over in those positions.

At the back, for example, he could play Ian Murray alongside Chris Hogg, or consider the claims of Sol Bamba and Darren McCormack. Up front, besides Colin Nish and Derek Riordan, he has Abdessalam Benjelloun back from loan.

Benjelloun's fellow-Moroccan Merouane Zemmama will also be available, but faces a tough fight to claim a place in midfield. Patrick Cregg and Kevin McBride have moved from Falkirk with their manager, and Danny Galbraith has joined from Manchester United.

Of the players who turned out for Mixu Paatelainen last season, Lewis Stevenson and John Rankin will also come into consideration. Stevenson, of course, would also be a contender for left-back if Murray were preferred in the heart of defence. Galbraith would then slot in at left midfield, his natural position.

It is worth seeing if Benjelloun and Zemmama can rekindle their old understanding, but whether Benji and Riordan can hit it off together up front is more open to question. Either could play off Nish, but both are more creative than the target man.

Then there is the question of a goalkeeper. Hughes has changed his goalkeeping coach, but remains on the lookout for a new keeper to challenge – if not quickly replace – Yves Makalambay.

Both Edinburgh clubs, then, still lack the odd piece before the jigsaw is complete. Hibs need a goalkeeper, Hearts a striker.

So far at least, though, both Laszlo and Hughes have recruited sensibly, and in a way which suggests they know what they want their sides to look like come the start of the season.

Both will be happy, however, that, with key signings still to be made, that big kick-off remains more than a month away.