Struna set to land a new deal at Hearts
HEARTS head coach Ian Cathro has revealed he wants to tie down Andraz Struna on a longer contract following a bright start to his Tynecastle career.
The 27-year-old has made 11 appearances following his arrival in January, cementing the right-back berth with a series of assured displays.
Struna only penned a deal until the summer but Cathro sees him as the perfect replacement for Callum Paterson, who has indicated he will leave the club when his deal expires in June.
The Slovenian, who has 25 caps, is currently on international duty after he was named in Srecko Katanec’s squad to face Scotland on Sunday.
Cathro said: “We are having talks with some of the players who are here until the end of the season.
“We’re starting to address those things now. Andraz is a player we feel good about and we’ll be talking to him.”
Meanwhile, defender Faycal Rherras has been handed a late call-up to the Morocco squad – despite playing only one match for Hearts in 2017
The 23-year-old has been drafted in by Atlas Lions boss Herve Renard for the friendlies against Burkina Faso and Tunisia after several key men were ruled out. Manuel da Costa, Youssef Ait Bennasser and stalwart Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia are all absent.
Rherras’ selection comes as a surprise, given that an 81-minute outing against Partick Thistle in February is his only action this year.
The left-back is one of several Hearts players on international duty.
Alexandros Tziolis is in the Greece squad and Arnaud Djoum has kept his place in Cameroon’s set-up.
Youngster Liam Smith has also been named in Scot Gemmill’s Scotland Under-21 group.