Hearts: Clevid Dikamona on '˜miracle' of joining club and why he wants to stay

Hearts centre-back Clevid Dikamona has described signing for the club as a 'miracle' and wants to stay put.
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The Congolese defender signed for the club until the end of the season back in September after he cancelled his contract with Israeli side Bnei Sakhnin.

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Recruited as a back-up to Jimmy Dunne and John Souttar, Dikamona developed into a key starter and fans’ favourite following Souttar’s injury.

Clevid Dikamona wants to stay at Hearts. Picture: SNS/Ross ParkerClevid Dikamona wants to stay at Hearts. Picture: SNS/Ross Parker
Clevid Dikamona wants to stay at Hearts. Picture: SNS/Ross Parker

In an in-depth interview with Get French Football Newsthe 28-year-old explained how he ended up at Tynecastle.

“I signed in Israel (Bnei Sakhnin] for this season, but after the pre-season, my family joined me there and we had a few problems with them settling, for example finding French or English-speaking schools for my daughters, finding somewhere to live, my wife didn’t feel too comfortable there because of the political climate – or at least the image of it in France.

“So it was complicated to integrate well there and also in terms of the team, even if I got on well with the other players, I had difficulties with the philosophy of the directors and the way they ran the club.

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“What people don’t know is that I signed initially and ripped up the contract because I wasn’t happy with how it happened. Then they persuaded me that they really wanted to sign me so I re-signed – the coach himself convinced me, and the sporting director who put things in place so it would go well. But when my family joined me it became more complicated. So with my wife we came to the decision to end the contract.”

He added: “Simply because it (the move to Hearts) happened – it was a miracle.

“I decided with my wife to end the contract on a Wednesday. I ended it on the Thursday morning. I packed my bags to leave on Thursday evening. During that day I’d asked my agent to look into other options – it was a bit complicated because it was already end of August/beginning of September. But it was a miracle because the offer already came in Thursday evening.

“So when my agent phoned with good news – offer from Hearts – I accepted without even asking about the salary as I told myself the timing was too perfect to be just a coincidence.”

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Dikamona has made 11 appearances, starting the last seven games and Hearts boss Craig Levein has been impressed with the player’s contributions but he won’t discuss a potential new deal until next year.

The defender is very keen to extend his stay in the capital.

“I’ve got to an age where, for both myself and my family, I need some stability. Whether it’s my professional life or my family life, I need stability. And here at Hearts I have everything I need to be happy.

“I’m in an extraordinary club, with extraordinary fans, in an extraordinary city to welcome my family. I have everything I need to feel good, and now it’s up to me to do the necessary work on and off the pitch to persuade the club to keep me. It’s not for me to rest on my laurels.

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“I really want to stay at the club... I’ve been looking for the club where I can be totally happy and I’ve finally found it, so I hope to be able to stay and I need to give everything for that to happen.”

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