Hearts winger Sabah Kerjota is hoping to leave Turkey with Mohamed Salah's shirt after Thursday's Conference League match against Trabzonspor, using his Albania international teammate Ernest Muci as the inside track to the Liverpool legend.
Kerjota, 25, has already asked Muci, who plays for Trabzonspor, to help secure the Egyptian superstar's jersey. The Hearts player confirmed the request, saying he looks up to Salah as one of the best players in the world, but insisted his team will focus on their own game.
Kerjota's Shirt Swap Plan
"I already said to the Albanian guy in the national team (Muci). Hopefully, we will see," Kerjota said. "I think for every player of Hearts and every player in the world he is one of the best players. Yes, for sure (I look up to Salah). Hopefully he's going to play a bad game Thursday, but we're going to do our best and we go there to do our game."
Trabzonspor opened their Conference League campaign with a win over Finnish side KuPS and beat domestic rivals Besiktas 2-0 on Monday night. Hearts had to settle for an opening home point against Nordsjaelland, having led for much of the game before conceding a late equaliser.
European Experience and Ambition
Kerjota, who helped Hearts qualify through a win in Rapid Vienna, said the team is determined to make the most of the opportunity. "You work so hard to get to this stage," he said. "You want to play against the best players like Salah and go to the best stadiums like that. Yeah, we won in Rapid in Vienna to play in these games. So we are here now and we need to play like we are the same like them. We'll do our best."
Hearts suffered a heavy defeat at Celtic at the weekend, but Kerjota is confident they can bounce back in Europe. Trabzonspor sit fourth in the Super Lig, three points behind leaders Galatasaray, and boast strong home support.
Learning from European Tests
Kerjota acknowledged the challenge posed by Turkish clubs, noting the atmosphere at their stadiums. "It's so tough. We know that in Turkey, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas, they have one of the best stadiums in the world for the fans. But we play always against Rangers, Celtic and when the teams come here in Tynecastle, it's the same atmosphere. So it will be a good game for us and hopefully we get some points."
Hearts have faced Sturm Graz in the Champions League and Benfica in the Europa League, and Kerjota believes Trabzonspor are on a similar level. "Probably, they have good players. I think Benfica is a little bit better because they have young players and they play in a better level I think, but in terms of the support they have and Salah, I don't need to say nothing after this," he said.
Adapting to European Intensity
Kerjota said European games are a learning curve for Hearts, different from the domestic game. "European games are so much different from the Scottish Premiership because they never drop the ball, they never put the ball away and they have the power to play 90 minutes and in high level, but we were doing that for I think 80-85 minutes, so we are in the good way, but we need to learn with this."
After the heavy loss to Celtic, Kerjota does not expect head coach Wouter Vrancken to change his approach. "I think that the coach wants to do the same. He never wants to defend. We will try to do our game. After we will see if they are that good. But we will do our game for sure."
Reflecting on the Nordsjaelland draw, Kerjota said Hearts must learn to close out games. "Yes, because when you lead for 75 minutes, 80 minutes and at your home you want to win, but this is Europe and we need to learn with this and we take it at home and we need to be ready for the first of the game. We were leading and we had the chances to go 2-0, but this is Europe guys and we need to learn with this, but I think it was three points for us and when you lead you need to win these games."
