Hearts' Kaunas deal will bring happy end to Zaliukas saga

Hearts officials intend to conclude the Marius Zaliukas contract saga this week by completing a deal that will see the club captain transferred to Tynecastle permanently from FBK Kaunas.

Verbal agreements are already in place for Zaliukas to become a bona fide Hearts player after more than four years on loan from the Lithuanian side. Club officials confirmed that his wage demands are now "more realistic" following his exorbitant requests when talks began.

The 26-year-old returned to first-team duty on Saturday having been injured and subsequently frozen out since August because of the disagreement over the terms of his move.

With his new contract about to be ratified, he was reinstated to central defence as a Kevin Kyle header secured Hearts a priceless victory over Aberdeen.

Manager Jim Jefferies spoke before the match to reveal that "there has been a big improvement in talks" and that a deal "looks imminent" as he declared himself happy at welcoming the player back.

Afterwards, Jefferies praised Zaliukas' contribution, mindful that the defender had not played competitively since Hearts' 4-0 victory at Hamilton on August 21.

"No doubt Marius Zaliukas coming in means Ismael Bouzid is more comfortable in defence," explained the manager. "For anybody playing left-back, it's better when Marius is playing because he drops off. We got a clean sheet and we've been strugging with Lee Wallace and Marius out. Marius being available meant we looked solid in a 4-4-2 formation."