Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken is considering a late addition of Amadou Ba-Sy to the club's Champions League squad after the French striker scored twice on his debut in Friday's 2-1 friendly victory over Rayo Vallecano. Ba-Sy, a 6ft 3in summer signing from FC Rouen, was initially left out of the 22-man squad submitted to UEFA on Thursday due to illness that hampered his first weeks in Edinburgh.
Ba-Sy's Impact and Potential Inclusion
After finally getting 45 minutes of playing time and scoring both goals against the La Liga side, Ba-Sy could still make the cut. Hearts have until 10.59pm on Monday to make up to two changes to their European squad. When asked if he regretted omitting Ba-Sy, Vrancken said: “Regret? He had no minutes at this moment. But I think there is still a possibility to change some things. One or two, I don't know the right rules. We have to check it. No matter what, it's good for him that he has this feeling again. That's important.”
Vrancken added: “I’m very happy because it's his first 45 minutes after a difficult start for him here. Being sick and stuff. He's making step-by-step progression also in volume and condition wise. You saw after 35 minutes that it dropped a little bit in intensity and volume. But this is normal. But it's good for him when you score goals as an attacker. It gives confidence.”
Team Readiness for Sturm Graz
Vrancken insists his side is ready to face Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz, despite having only three weeks to implement his tactics. When asked if he had his starting 11 in mind, he said: “Friday made it more difficult, luckily! For sure you want to see some guys standing up and taking responsibility and showing themselves. We need more players than 11 players to play all those games. I like it like this.”
He continued: “We make the decisions and also we look to the fatigue and all those things together. What they can handle to start or to come in. We will need everybody in those games. We know that not everybody can go for 90 minutes full. So we need everybody of the team to help us. But the selection was very difficult. It's a pity that a lot of players couldn't show themselves as much as they want. Because we had to give the list on Thursday. And some guys I saw two times 45 minutes or 45 and 60 minutes. But that's not real minutes to show something. But OK, you make a decision. I talked with everybody. I’m really honest and open in my decision-making and the reasons behind. I talked with all those players.”
New Goalkeeper Beau Reus
Dutch goalkeeper Beau Reus became Hearts' ninth summer signing on Friday and is expected to replace Alexander Schwolow when the German returns to Mainz on August 1. Vrancken knows Reus from Belgian football, where the 6ft 6in keeper helped SK Beveren win the second-tier title last season. Vrancken said: “Beau is a good goalkeeper. You know that he was champion last year in the second division in Belgium. He has a lot of qualities. Big shoes to fill actually. But we have to support him. I think he has the qualities to be a very important player for us. And take the spot of Alex. But again, until now, Alex is still here. He will fight with us in the Sturm Graz games. Now the focus is still on that.”
Player Rotation and Omissions
Twenty-four players featured against Rayo Vallecano, but Elton Kabangu and James Wilson were absent, while Zander Clark was the only unused substitute. Vrancken explained: “Yeah, difficult. You cannot give everybody minutes, 20, 25, 28 players minutes in one game. For James it's different. He's young and there's a lot of competition there. And he's on the (Euro) list. So he has this positive thing there. The other two, the situation is more difficult. And the chances are limited.”
