SAULIUS MIKOLIUNAS returned to Lithuania last night after failing to agree terms on a new contract with Hearts, the Evening News can reveal.
Mikoliunas, on loan at Tynecastle from the Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas, had discussed a deal to remain in Edinburgh next season on a reduced wage but so far has opted not to sign, thus he was summoned back to eastern Europe for talks with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.
The player spent yesterday at the club's Riccarton training ground but suspects that his four-year spell in Scotland could be brought to an end if negotiations do not proceed.
He was not included in Hearts' squad for last weekend's victory over Kilmarnock after refusing to accept the contract terms. His fate was discussed yesterday after one of the club's Lithuanian directors, Sergejus Fedotovas, arrived in town for discussions with manager Csaba Laszlo.
Mikoliunas remains contracted to Kaunas, the Lithuanian club which, like Hearts, is financed by Vladimir Romanov's Ukio Bankas Investment Group. He would be obliged to return there if his future cannot be sorted out, however the club is not playing top-level football at present due to a dispute with the Lithuanian Football Federation.
Mikoliunas said last year that he may look for pastures new at the end of the season when the current loan expires. "The conditions at Hearts are perfect," he said in December. "Edinburgh – wonderful city and the Scots are crazy for football. But I have stayed four years, therefore I would like something new. New challenges."
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