Hearts will be doing everything they can NOT to sell Kye Rowles next month despite his transfer value being higher than ever after the World Cup.
Rowles was arguably the most impressive of the three Jambos in Qatar with Nathaniel Atkinson and Cammy Devlin also travelling – the latter going home with Lionel Messi's shirt despite not getting off the bench. Rowles played every minute as they eventually went out to Messi and Co and having only joined Hearts in the summer from Central Coast Mariners, the 24-year-old looks a valuable asset.
But Andrew McKinlay and Joe Savage are by no means committed to cashing in as the CEO insisted the focus for Hearts is on strengthening Robbie Neilson's squad rather than raking in the cash when the transfer window opens. McKinlay said at their AGM on Thursday: “There will be money (to spend on transfers). We will always look to come out of a transfer window stronger than when we come into it. I’m very positive we will come out of this window better.
"On the expected bids, unlike other teams, we don't welcome bids. You might have seen other teams recently talking up their players. It’s fair to say someone who has played four games in a World Cup, every minute of those four games, is not going to leave here cheaply.”
Hearts sporting director Savage then added: “To reiterate what Andrew said there, we have heard there is interest in Kye but you can only deal with something when it comes across your table. We’ll be very difficult to deal with, I imagine.
"I can see Kye wanting to stay, to see out the season with us and try and help us achieve our goals. We won’t welcome bids but if anyone does come for him they will have to pay top dollar to get him out. He’s a top player who has played at a World Cup now. He’s our player and teams need to realise that."
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