Hearts trialist Arturas Rimkevicius seeks Romanov talks on future

HEARTS trialist Arturas 
Rimkevicius is still eager to join the Edinburgh club and will ask owner Vladimir Romanov if he can return to Scotland as soon as signing restrictions are lifted.

Rimkevicius has returned to his native Lithuania seeking talks with Romanov about his future. The striker is unable to sign for Hearts as intended 
because they cannot recruit 
anyone over the age of 21, 
however, he hopes to return and make his mark in Scotland once the Scottish Premier League end the transfer embargo first imposed last October.

Rimkevicius told the Evening News today that he wants 
urgent talks with Romanov – Hearts’ majority shareholder – to ordain whether he can go back to Riccarton later this year. He trained there last month having been told by Romanov that he would join Hearts when the January transfer window opened. However, the SPL scuppered that plan by extending signing restrictions on the Tynecastle club as punishment for unpaid bonuses to players.

For now, Hearts can only register under-21 players on a lower salary than anyone they release. They can only bring in a new player after an existing squad member leaves to ensure numbers do not increase. Rimkevicius is currently back in his homeland looking for a new club but is eager to return to Edinburgh and prove himself in the SPL after scoring 41 goals in 38 games in all competitions last year.

“I can’t play for Hearts because the club has an embargo until the end of the season so it is finished for now,” he said today. “Maybe I can go back in the summer. I need to talk with Mr Romanov and then I will know if I can come to Scotland in the summer or not. I know he has been on holiday but I will try to talk to him this week.

“It’s difficult because I came to Scotland last month and I want to play for Hearts. I was ready to play. This situation is very bad for me because now I need to find a new team.

“Everyone at Hearts was very friendly and I think they wanted me to join Hearts. I think maybe the coach wanted me to come but I don’t know for sure. I really wanted to play but it can’t happen at the moment. Maybe in the future.”

Rimkevicius broke goalscoring records in the Lithuanian A Lyga last year with FK Siauliai and was ready to move to Scotland with his family. He may now accept a short-term deal with a new club before the 2013 Lithuanian season starts.