Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has addressed the future of Claudio Braga, insisting the striker remains at the club for now but admitting the Tynecastle side must be prepared for a potential departure before the transfer window closes.
Braga, who scored his first goal of the season on Sunday, has attracted interest from across Europe and Major League Soccer, with Ligue 1 side Lyon and Turkish club Trabzonspor reportedly monitoring the PFA Scotland and SFWA player of the year. Tynecastle chiefs are said to value the forward at around £8 million.
Vrancken: No concrete offers yet
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's Europa League qualifying second leg against Benfica, Vrancken said: "For Claudio, nothing concrete that I know. So as long as it's not coming to me, I think he's staying at the moment."
He added: "So I'm happy when I don't hear anything. So let's hope that it sticks until the beginning of September."
The Belgian coach acknowledged the uncertainty that comes with the transfer window, stating: "He's a good player and it's a transfer window. So then you're always a little bit nervous if he stays or not, or he goes or not."
Replacement plans and Kyziridis exit
Hearts have already lost Alexandros Kyziridis this week, with the Greek midfielder completing a £1.7m move to Turkish Super Lig side FK Corum. Vrancken praised Kyziridis's contribution, saying: "He was also one who brought a personality in the group. I really liked working with him, really liked him as a person."
On replacing him, the manager noted: "I think the guys did replace him already really good on Sunday." Regarding Braga, he stressed the club's readiness: "The only thing we can do there as a club is being ready when it happens."
Benfica challenge ahead
Hearts face a daunting task against Benfica, who hold a 6-1 advantage from the first leg in Lisbon. Vrancken acknowledged the quality of the opposition: "You cannot rule out the quality of Benfica. Going back on it, last year they didn't lose one game and were third in the league."
He added: "So a long time ago, the only home game they lost was against Real Madrid. So it's a nice team to watch also. It's a quality team."
Hearts will be without injured trio Harry Milne, Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Stephen Kingsley for the second leg, though Vrancken expects Milne to be available for Sunday's League Cup clash with Inverness.
Confidence and experience
Vrancken hopes a good performance against Benfica can boost confidence following Sunday's 4-0 win over Dundee United, his first victory as Hearts boss. He said: "A result would for sure increase the confidence level. But also good performance."
The manager also highlighted the importance of experience for his young players, noting that some have come from lower divisions. He said: "The guys here, the players here, need experience. And like I said, I think a good preparation with a lot of volume and to be ready physically is very important."
He added: "And experience there on the level. And you can only have experience there when you play there. So this is a very good possibility to learn a lot."
