Danish striker gets chance to win loan deal with Hearts

HEARTS will consider a loan deal for Danish trialist Mike Tullberg if he impresses during the remainder of their German tour. The player still has three years remaining on his contract with the Italian side Reggina having cost £850,000 from Aarhus last year.

Tullberg played the final 20 minutes of last night's 1-0 defeat by Kaiserslautern in Marburg in front of Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov. He is keen to move to Scotland after just seven Serie A appearances for Reggina. Manager Csaba Laszlo was happy with the Dane's contribution and hopes to assess him again on Tuesday against SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

Reggina intend to recoup some, if not all, of their investment on Tullberg but Hearts would prefer an initial loan agreement if they decide the striker meets their requirements.

"He is definitely not free. A loan is one option but he has three years left on his contract," said Ivan Marco Benes, the player's agent. "He is 22 and he feels his style would suit the football in Scotland. He is still a very hungry player because things didn't really work out for him in Italy. Reggina paid E1.1m for him last year but soon after he signed the manager was sacked. In total he played seven times but didn't score any goals. He still has a lot to offer."

Tullberg looked lively during his brief outing against Kaiserslautern as Hearts fell to an Erik Jendrisek goal seconds before half-time. Laszlo revealed he sustained a minor injury but should be fit for Hearts' final tour match on Tuesday. "At the moment, he has a small injury but I hope he will be okay in one or two days," said the Hungarian.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian side Levski Sofia are monitoring out-of-favour Hearts goalkeeper Anthony Basso. The Frenchman did not travel to Germany after being disciplined by Laszlo and is currently attracting interest from First Division Livingston, who have approached Tynecastle officials with a loan offer for the player.

However, Levski Sofia are currently searching for a new keeper and have been made aware of Basso's situation.