Broken Hearts: Jose Goncalves is determined to leave Tynecastle.
Jose Goncalves’ Hearts career could be at an end after his new manager Jim Jefferies said he was unwilling to field players who aren’t committed to the club. Goncalves, who is out of contract at the end of the season, is said to have told Jefferies he will not be signing a new deal to keep him at Tynecastle.
That desire to leave Edinburgh led to Jefferies freezing the 24-year-old out of Tuesday night’s Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final defeat to St Mirren and the Hearts boss has accepted he is likely to lose the defender.
"I have had a word with Jose and I think he is resigned to leaving the club," said Jefferies. "I would rather work with players who want to play for Hearts than players who don't want to be here. He said he won't be here.
"I said I wanted him to stay. I think he would like to play for us but he has made his mind up he is going to go. So I would rather work hard with players who want to be here, and that's what I'll do."
The January transfer window came to a close on Monday night but despite that, Jefferies said that the Portuguese could still earn a move elsewhere. Several associations, including those in Norway, Sweden and the USA can still sign players, with their pre-season transfer windows running into March for the Scandinavian countries and April for the MLS.
That opens up a number of possibilities for Goncalves as he looks to play his way into Portugal’s World Cup squad, having been on the fringes of the team during qualification earlier in the season.
"There's a chance he may move somewhere," confirmed Jefferies. "There are other areas he may move to.”
Goncalves moved to the capital in 2006 from Swiss club FC Thun, via a loan deal with FBK Kaunas. He became a Hearts player outright in 2008, but then moved to German club FC Nuremburg on loan.
Bundesliga side Stuttgart were linked with taking him on a free transfer in the summer during January, but a move never materialised. Should he be released from his contract ahead of schedule, interested parties could pick the player up outwith the window.
