FBK Kaunas to Hearts

Loan moves from Lithuanian football club FBK Kaunas to Scottish Premier League club Hearts have proved controversial in Scottish football. Both clubs are controlled by businessman Vladimir Romanov and the comparatively large number of such loans is seen by someWho|date=August 2008 as a bending of the loan transfer rules. Loan transfers from clubs outside Scotland are automatically exempt from the limitation on signing players on loan [ [http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/shfootball/display.var.1168446.0.0.php How many players does it take to change a football club?] "The Herald"] .

Type 1 Loans

These loans take two forms. In the first, players are signed by Kaunas, but have been immediately transferred to Hearts on loan, without playing for Kaunas at all. There have been seven such loans:

*Deividas Česnauskis

Česnauskis was the first player signed by Kaunas with the express intention of playing for Hearts. He moved from Lokomotiv Moscow in February 2005.

*Roman Bednář

Czech striker Roman Bednář was transferred to Kaunas in July 2005 from FK Mladá Boleslav and was immediately loaned to Hearts. He signed a four-year deal with Hearts in August 2006. To date, he is the only player signed on loan from Kaunas to have gone on to sign a full permanent contract with Hearts. For the 2007-2008 season, Bednar was loaned to English Championship team West Bromwich Albion. In May 2008, at the end of his loan spell West Bromwich Albion exercised an option to purchase him, converting his loan into a permanent deal, with Albion paying Hearts £2.3 million for the player, in addition to the £200,000 loan fee they had paid previously.

*Edgaras Jankauskas

Lithuanian striker Jankauskas left FC Porto for Kaunas in the summer of 2005 and was immediately loaned to Hearts. His loan contract was ended prior to the 2007-08 season and he moved to Kaunas.

*Nerijus Barasa

Right-back Barasa barely featured for Hearts in the immediate aftermath of his January 2006 loan move due to injury, making only one start against Rangers in the final match of the 2005-06 season. He featured more prominently during the 2006-07 season, although he was again hampered by injury. Although Barasa had played for Kaunas in the past, his loan move to Hearts came after five seasons playing in Russia and was, in effect, a paper-only transfer. He returned to Kaunas for a second time when his loan contract was terminated prior to the 2007-08 season.

*Bruno Aguiar

Portuguese midfielder Aguiar was transferred to Kaunas in January 2006 from Portuguese high-flyers Benfica, before he became one of 11 players to join Hearts during the January 2006 transfer window.

*José Gonçalves

Former FC Thun defender Gonçalves moved on loan to Hearts in January 2006, after joining the Lithuanian champions for £633,000 in a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Type 2 Loans

The second type of loan involves players who have played regularly for Kaunas before being transferred on loan to Hearts. The players who have been loaned in this manner are:

*Saulius Mikoliūnas

Young Lithuanian international winger Mikoliūnas was one of the first players loaned from Kaunas to Hearts, moving to Edinburgh in January 2005.

*Marius Kizys

Kizys moved to Tynecastle at the same time as Mikoliūnas but after making only 8 first-team appearances (6 of which were as a substitute) his loan was not renewed in the summer of 2005.

*Marius Žaliūkas

Defender Žaliūkas moved to Hearts on loan from Kaunas in August 2006. Initially deployed as a defensive midfielder, he became a more regular starter when moved to centre-back.

*Andrius Velička

Striker Velička also joined Hearts on loan from Kaunas in August 2006. He was the Edinburgh side's top scorer during the 2006-07 season. Initially, his loan deal at Hearts ended without being renewed. [ [http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1230502007 Velicka gone, "The Scotsman, August 6 2007] ] However, he has since returned for 2007-08. [ [http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1262602007 Velicka back but Pospisil gone as Hearts spring another surprise August 11 2007] ] . In 2008, Andrius signed for fellow SPL side Glasgow Rangers.

*Kęstutis Ivaškevičius

Young attacking midfielder Ivaškevičius moved on loan at the same time as Velička and Žaliūkas and made his debut against Alloa Athletic in the League Cup. In August 2008 he returned to Kaunas.

*Arkadiusz Klimek

In January 2007, striker Klimek became the first non-Lithuanian player to be loaned to Hearts after playing for Kaunas. The Pole spent one season with Kaunas having previously played in Greece and his homeland. He played only a handful of games for Hearts before returning to Kaunas in May 2007.

*Eduardas Kurskis

6 times capped goalkeeper Kurskis joined the club on loan from Kaunas in the January 2007 transfer window. In March 2008, he returned to Kaunas.

*Tomas Kančelskis

Former Kaunas captain Kančelskis also joined on loan in January 2007. He had previously played as a trialist for Hearts in a friendly against Atlético Osasuna in July 2006. He played several times for the first team, both at centre-back and right-back, during the 2006-07 season. In March 2008, he Returned to Kaunas.

*Linas Pilibaitis

Attacking midfielder Pilibaitis was the third Lithuanian to move on loan to Hearts in January 2007. He returned to Kaunas in August 2007.

*Ričardas Beniušis

Striker Beniušis played for Hearts as trialist in their pre-season friendly against FC Barcelona in July 2007. He moved to Edinburgh on a 6 month loan deal the following week. He returned to Kaunas in March 2008.

*Audrius Ksanavičius

Ksanavičius also played in the friendly match against Barcelona before signing on loan. The attacking midfielder had previously played outside of his homeland with Skonto Riga.

*Adrian Mrowiec

Mrowiec helped Kaunas defeat Rangers before signing on loan. His debut was against Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium.

*Marian Kello

Kello also helped Kaunas defeat Rangers before signing on loan. His debut was against St Mirren at Tynecastle Stadium.] .

Fan reaction

Reaction to the influx of Lithuanian players amongst Hearts supporters has been mixed, with several being booed for perceived poor performance and the perception that they receive preferential treatment. [ [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=edinburgh-derby-hearts-reaction&method=full&objectid=19581829&siteid=66633-name_page.html Edinburgh Derby:Hearts Reaction] , "The Daily Record", 7 August 2007] In contrast, others such as Velička (Hearts top scorer in 2006-07) and Žaliūkas became established important first team players [ [http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1213812007 Shaggy is ready for the real deal] , "The Scotsman", 3 August 2007] .

References