Hearts splash out on Pospisil

Pospisil moved from Slovan Liberec in a deal worth over 300,000 to the Czech club. He will line up alongside fellow new acquisitions Roman Bednar and Edgaras Jankauskas in a new-look attacking line-up which boasts three players with Champions League experience.

Unlike his fellow front men, both of whom were brought to the club on initial one-year loan deals, Pospisil has been hired on a permanent basis. The funds required to finance the transfer have been taken from the club's own budget rather than via contributions from major shareholder Vladimir Romanov, who is paying the bulk of Jankauskas' wages.

While Burley declared himself satisfied with the strikers now at the club there is still tinkering to be done. Chief executive Phil Anderton confirmed other moves were afoot, with Ibrahim Tall, the former Socheaux defender, and Julien Brellier, a midfielder whose last club was Venezia, still "very much on the radar", and likely to join up this week. A back-up goalkeeper for Craig Gordon is another one of Burley's targets.

Further delighting the Hearts support ahead of Sunday's derby against Hibs, which is already a sell-out, is the news that Anderton will this week sit down with Paul Hartley in an attempt to commit the midfielder to a longer deal.

"Paul Hartley is a central figure at the club," said Anderton. "He was, as everyone knows, the subject of recent offers from Celtic which were rejected in January and July. We'd have been foolhardy to sell one of our best assets to a competitor at a time when we were short in a number of areas, and when we didn't know what the new manager thought of the player. Plus, the offers were not at the level they needed to be.

"But George [Burley] has brought in top-quality players and I believe Paul is encouraged by that. We are going to be sitting down this week. I have just discussed it with the board and they are more than happy to offer an extended contract, with extended wages, because we want to have people like that at the club.

"It doesn't mean he will definitely agree an extension. The player has to decide what's right for him, and we have to agree terms. We are never going to get back into a position where we overpay for people."

Burley's fourth signing of the summer was completed yesterday when Pospisil agreed terms on a three-year deal. The Czech striker has already featured in a maroon shirt, though only for the first ten minutes of the recent friendly match against Middlesbrough. A hamstring injury restricted his efforts that night, but he will have plenty of opportunity to show the Hearts support what he can do over the next three seasons.

His credentials appear faultless. Pospisil was an integral member of the Czech Republic Under-21 team which won the European Championship title for the first time in 2002, scoring the golden goal against Italy which propelled a side which included Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech into the final.

He has also experienced the Champions League with Sparta Prague and was a regular scorer for Liberec. After spending his entire career in the Czech Gambrinus Liga, the 26- year-old felt it was time to begin a new stage of his career abroad. "I see a lot of British football and I wanted a change," he said. "Hearts present a new challenge for me."

Burley is delighted, having had his eye on the player for some time. "He is a record cap-holder for the Czech Republic Under-21 team and is on the fringes of the full international side. He is well known in his country as one of their best goal-scorers.

"When I joined the club the area that was the biggest worry was the striking department," added Burley. "With the signing of Pospisil that completes my striking formation. It gives me competition, and options. I can now strengthen other departments."

Meanwhile, the SPL has said that Stuart Dougal will referee the first Edinburgh derby of the season at Tynecastle on Sunday.