Long-time Hearts signing target Gogita Gogua has signed for FC Saturn in Russia after the Edinburgh club refused to meet the asking price of £1 million+.
Gogua, a Georgian international midfield player, was close to signing in January but the deal fell through then because of work permit complications. This time however, it seems that his club Spartak Nalchik used the known interest in the player’s services to bump up the asking price, to the point where Hearts decided they wouldn’t be getting value for money.
Valdas Ivanauskas, who now appears to be a general gopher for Romanov, had this to say about the situation:
‘It’s disappointing because the player wanted to play. We were very unlucky with him during the transfer window in January.
‘He wanted to play for Hearts and I think he could help the team, but it was very difficult. Not only because of the work permit but he had a contract with Spartak and they were demanding a big fee. The price was very high and there was only a small chance of him coming to Hearts. We were interested in him but he is staying in the Russian league now.
‘I don’t know the conditions of his move to Saturn because it is not my deal, but it is a good chance for him because the Russian league is still strong.’
Oh well – that’s that then.
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We didn’t need another winger anyway.