The long-time Lithuanian champion "Kaunas" goalkeeper Eduard Kurskis' career could take a turn to Scotland - the Lithuanian arrived for a trial at Edinburgh "Hearts" club, owned by Kaunas businessman Vladimir Romanov.
The experienced 30-year-old goalkeeper, who this year became Lithuanian champion for the sixth time in seven years with "Kaunas" and made it to the top 20 in the best "A League" player selection, will have the opportunity to train for a couple of weeks with the Scottish vice-champions and earn a spot in the club.
The news of the goalkeeper's arrival in Scotland was confirmed to the Scottish media by team coach Valdas Ivanauskas: "It will be a good experience for him to be in the 'Hearts' club. It's hard to say for now if he will stay here in the future. We have a few good goalkeepers in the first team and also young guys, but Kurskis works hard with us, he is a good goalkeeper. He has been one of the best in Lithuania for some time now, and now he will have to adjust here, and that's why we are watching him."
"He is in the trial, and as I mentioned before, 'Kaunas' will participate in a tournament in Moscow next month (in the 'Commonwealth Cup' competition - ed.), so this should help him. Spending a couple of weeks here and training with us will be beneficial for him, as currently in Lithuania, training properly is difficult due to the cold." - said V. Ivanauskas.
Meanwhile, main "Hearts" goalkeeper and captain Craig Gordon expressed his joy for his teammate Saulius Mikoliūnas. The 22-year-old Lithuanian scored the winning goal on the second day of Christmas in a crucial Edinburgh derby against "Hibernian" team.
"To be honest, I did not expect him to do it. Lately, he has been playing really well and has regained the athletic form that we know he can show. It was just a matter of time when he will start doing it again. When he arrived at the club, fans immediately liked him and he seemed very promising. He is a young man and still learning, but that goal will give him a lot of confidence in his abilities, and I hope it will also boost his performance." - said C. Gordon.
"He knows that players support him, he is a great talent and a very good footballer, but sometimes our fans criticized him. He himself admitted that he didn't play as he would have liked, but he tried in matches, tried every day in training, and you can always expect 100 percent from him, even when he didn't play well. It's important for the fans to understand that he works for the team." - said the goalkeeper.
These are not the only news in the "Hearts" club. Coach Valdas Ivanauskas is not at ease due to injuries, as Edgaras Jankauskas and defender Julien Brellier will miss the match against "Kilmarnock" on Saturday. However, the team's fans should be delighted to know that the club has signed a contract with the legendary 16-year-old Romanian Dumitru Copilas, compared to Georghe Hagi, who rejected an offer from Glasgow "Celtic."