Coventry bosses to watch Hearts derby in Driver hunt

Published on Wednesday 6 May 2009 10:20

COVENTRY CITY chairman Ray Ranson and manager Chris Coleman will travel north for tomorrow night's Edinburgh derby as they prepare to step up their pursuit of Hearts winger Andy Driver.

Coleman dispatched a scout to Ibrox on Sunday and received glowing feedback on the Englishman's performance against Rangers. He will now take in Hibernian's visit to Tynecastle and is expected to approach Hearts with a formal offer for the player in due course.

Vladimir Romanov, Hearts' majority shareholder, is likely only to listen to offers exceeding 2million for 21-year-old Driver, whose contract runs until June 2013. It remains to be seen if Coventry are willing to match Romanov's valuation but Coleman's summer transfer budget stands between 3m and 4m.

Driver remains settled in Edinburgh and has no immediate thoughts of leaving but Coventry believe they can lure him to the English Championship with an attractive financial package.

The winger, a product of Hearts' highly successful youth academy, spoke about his future in English-based media outlets yesterday, saying: "I'm signed for four years so I don't think of anything other than that.

"Until the day comes when someone says you have got to move or that an offer has been accepted, that's when you think about it.

"I'm happy here on a long contract. We have shown this year we can make something of ourselves and it would be a shame to move away and miss out on that.

"The way the team has evolved, it's something you want to stay and be involved in."

Coventry were reported to have bid 1m for Driver in January this year but officials at the West Midlands club have refuted those claims.

Burnley were also pursuing the player last summer, when Hearts rejected offers of 500,000 and 750,000.