Hearts have accepted a £1.7 million bid for Alexandros Kyziridis, with manager Wouter Vrancken confirming the deal is good for all parties. The Greek winger was at Tynecastle on Sunday but dropped out of the squad after the bid was accepted from a newly-promoted Turkish side.
The 25-year-old has been given permission to open talks and finalise his move. Kyziridis arrived on a free transfer from Zemplin Michalovce and is one of the first players from Jamestown Analytics to generate a profit for Hearts.
Vrancken on the deal
Vrancken admitted: “We accepted a bit for Alex. I think it's a good deal for him, for sure. But also for the club, when he comes in for nothing and goes with a good bit. It's also a transfer window. When the transfer window is open, it's part of football.”
Josh McPake, signed from St Johnstone in the summer, scored on his full debut against Dundee United and could fill the Kyziridis void. Vrancken added: “I hope so. When you score goals, for an offensive player, it gives confidence. It's good that we have four different goal scorers. We take all their confidence out of the game, hopefully and go further like this. He (McPake) was growing in the past weeks. To score a goal, it gives an extra push for him. I’m happy to see it. Everybody has to feel to take their chance. Everybody has to be ready to take their chances. I think both wingers (McPake and Sabah Kerjota) did well today. We still have Sabri (Guendouz) there, he also can play there. Cal Miller, who is playing full-back, of course. They showed that they are ready, so I'm happy to see that.”
Milne fitness concern
Vrancken is unsure if Harry Milne will be fit for the Benfica return on Thursday night. He said: “We don't know. I don't know yet. We will not take a risk, of course, with him. So we will have to manage those things. Just happy for today. It's not a big issue. I think it was his dead leg from the game before against Sturm Graz. It was still a little bit there. It's a minor injury. But still, we don't want to take risks, especially with muscles.”
First win under Vrancken
Hearts secured their first win under the Belgian with a convincing 4-0 triumph over Dundee United. Tom Renaud scored a screamer, Claudio Braga also netted, and Calvin Miller and Josh McPake got their first goals in maroon. Vrancken insisted the result was more about the team showing their quality than easing pressure on him.
Vrancken said: “(I’m) Very happy. I think we played some good football. We showed some team spirit, team mentality. It was all in it. I’m just really happy for the players because they worked hard already. They needed some good results, like we said already before a few times, to create this extra kind of confidence. You saw also during the game the confidence growing. You saw also the nervousness on the ball was a little bit gone. They had to play, they had to use the spaces and some great goals. I don't look at pressure off my shoulders. I just see the guys enjoying and the players enjoying. For me, it's about them enjoying on the pitch. Having the good feeling when I see this happening. It gives me also a good feeling. This is for me the most important. We take the results because they need it. Also, for me, when you win a game, football is only nice when you win games. Today is a good day.”
The win was even more remarkable given the makeshift defence kept a clean sheet. Vrancken praised the team effort: “Really happy with the clean sheet. It's not only the four defenders who make sure the clean sheet happens. It's the whole team attacking. When you see our plays or goals, it's starting also at the back and going from there. For example, with the last goal, Josh scored. It was a really good positioning of Kabo and changing sides. It opens up there. It starts in the back with construction. But it also starts in front with the defence. I think everybody did their job. It's good for the goalkeepers and the defenders when you have a clean sheet.”
Calvin Miller played as a makeshift defender, and Vrancken joked: “I told him [Miller] already, but he doesn't want to hear it, but we found a new full-back I think. No, it was good. The guys were ready. They knew what to do and this is what we want to see. We cannot only count on 11 players, especially with that amount of games. It's good to see that they are all ready and that they can pick up. I have to say from Cal, it was amazing.”
