© EuroFootball.com
The planned transfer of Bosnian and Herzegovinian national team and Belgian club defender Mirsad Beslija to Edinburgh seems unlikely to happen after all - the Scottish club unexpectedly announced that there was no agreement for the player's transfer and now they have completely abandoned such intentions.
Although last week Genk officially announced that the 26-year-old M. Beslija passed a medical examination with Hearts and would sign a three-and-a-half-year contract, over time, the Scottish capital club owned by businessman from Lithuania Vladimiro Romanovo did not follow through, and on Tuesday, in an official statement posted on the team's website, it was stated that they "decided to abandon the idea of acquiring the player and Nerijus Barasa has already taken his place."
Despite the fact that the versatile 27-year-old Lithuanian national team player joined the team as a right-back and it was thought that M. Beslija in the same defensive line would compete with Lithuanians Saulius Mikoliunas and Deividas Cesnauskas, the deal did not go through, so on Tuesday the Bosnian had to return to Belgium.
These events angered representatives of the Genk club, who claim that they had already agreed to sell M. Beslija to Hearts for 1.2 million euros, but suddenly a few days later they received an offer for 400,000 euros less, motivated by the fact that they had to pay part of the money to the agents involved in the deal. For this, Genk threatens to take the Edinburgh club to court and file a complaint with UEFA.
"We have a contract with a signature on it, but suddenly Hearts no longer want to pay. Now we are considering what steps to take next," said Genk's sports director Ariel Jacobs. - "We have all the evidence we need. This is a market of players, not cattle, you can't agree on something and then change your mind."
M. Beslija, who has represented Genk for five years, had already agreed with Hearts on the terms of a personal contract, passed a medical examination, but while waiting for a work permit, he unexpectedly learned about the failed negotiations between the clubs. According to the player's agent, the player himself is "very disappointed", as he had rejected offers from Sunderland and Dynamo Moscow in order to move to Hearts.
Meanwhile, Hearts management continues to seek reinforcement. The team is soon expected to be joined by defender Bruno Aguiar from Benfica Lisbon, as well as 20-year-old left-back Jose Goncalves from Thun and 19-year-old goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi from Marseille. Both of these players are also of interest to several other European clubs.
