Dikamona has a hankering to return home to France
Hearts defender Clevid Dikamona has revealed his ambition to play in France’s top flight before the end of his career.
Signed by Craig Levein for his never- say- die spirit, the 29- yearold has been effusive about his admiration for the Edinburgh club and for the Scottish game in general. However having also played in England, Israel and Greece as well as the lower leagues in his home land, he is clear about where he sees as a dream destination would be when his contract runs out in 2020.
“If a Ligue 1 team was to call for me, then I would simply go back to France,” he said.
“If there is something that is missing from my career, it is playing in the elite there.
“Ever since I was a little boy, I always dreamed of playing for Caen’s first- team and doing so in front of my family.
“Although my agents did once try with the club, it is something I have never had the chance to do and I hope that one day it will happen.”
While his rollercoaster career – in 2012 after failing to strike a deal with Sheffield Wednesday he briefly ended up in the French Third Division – has taught him to stay positive, Dikamona does admit to concerns the way football is run in his homeland may work against him. “The problem with Ligue 1, and the whole French championship set- up in general, is that they only work with players they know.
“If a club has to choose between an experienced player in Ligue 2 and me, they would go for the other player.
“It is just how Ligue 1 works, it is their mentality.”
While Dikamona might have an eye to moving on in the future, he stresses one thing he won’t be doing is switching to one of Hearts’ Premiership rivals.
“I couldn’t ever see myself at Celtic or Rangers or anywhere else in Scotland, no,” he said.
“Hearts are a special club and my relationship with the supporters is something that is important to me.”