DAVID Obua, the Uganda internationalist, is poised to become Hearts' first signing of the summer, although the deal remains subject to the passing of a medical and the granting of a work permit.
The 24-year-old, who can play at left-back or left-midfield, has agreed in principle to move to Edinburgh and, if the deal is concluded successfully, he will become the first player recruited by Csaba Laszlo since the Hungarian's appointment as manag
er of the Tynecastle side earlier this month.
Obua, who played under Laszlo during the latter's time as manager of the African nation, trained with Hearts over the weekend, and was among a 25-man squad which flew out from Edinburgh Airport to Frankfurt last night for a ten-day training camp in the German town of Wiesbaden.
After a successful three-year spell in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, the Ugandan sought a move to Europe, and, following a recent trial with West Ham United which failed to result in a permanent arrangement, Obua must now wait to find out if red tape will block his move to Scotland.
He has been capped 22 times for Uganda, so should comfortably fulfil the legal requirement that players seeking a work permit must have appeared in 75 per cent of their country's competitive international 'A' team fixtures in the previous two years. However, it remains to be seen if Hearts will be able to get round the criterion that the FIFA ranking of the player's national side aggregated over two years must be at 70th or above. Uganda are currently ranked 97th in the world.
In the meantime, Obua will spend the next week and a bit in Wiesbaden further acquainting himself with what he hopes will be his new work colleagues. The 25-man party selected for the trip to Germany threw up few surprises, with Calum Elliot and Anthony Basso the most high-profile omissions aside from those on the injured list. Elliot remains in line to join Inverness on loan after becoming disillusioned with life at Tynecastle, while the latest snub will surely signal the end of the line for Basso, who has struggled to find favour in the eyes of Hearts' management.
Finnish striker Juho Makela, who has also been something of an outcast during his time in Scotland, received a boost when he was selected to make the trip. The forward arrives in south-west Germany with renewed confidence as he has just completed a successful three-month loan spell in his homeland with HJK Helsinki, scoring six goals in 11 appearances. Youngsters Jamie Mole and goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald, who both spent time on loan at Queen of the South last season, also made the cut, but injured duo Mirsad Beslija and Robbie Neilson missed out on a trip which will include triple training sessions as well as three friendly matches.
Meanwhile Laszlo's move to bring his former Uganda assistant Jackson Mayanja to Scotland appears to be at an advanced stage. "I have had several phone calls from Hearts officials but I am not allowed to comment further," said the 39-year-old Ugandan.
Fernando Screpis, whose Hearts contract was terminated last week, is currently on trial at Plymouth Argyle.
The full article contains 552 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
