Hearts hold Kenneth Vargas talks as the player apologises

Hearts held talks with Costa Rican winger Kenneth Vargas over the weekend following controversial comments about his future. Head coach Neil Critchley spoke to the 22-year-old after he apologised to team-mates for suggesting he could leave Tynecastle Park in January, and that he wanted to play at a higher level than Scottish football.

Vargas stressed he was misinterpreted in the interview with ESPN in Costa Rica. He returned to Edinburgh on Friday and spoke to Critchley on Sunday. He is now with the squad in Belgium as Hearts prepare for Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie against Cercle Brugge.

“I spoke to him on Sunday. We had a good conversation,” said Critchley. “I think Kenneth's learned from the experience. He knows my feelings as well. That's a private conversation between me and Kenneth, but Kenneth's a good guy. He's a good person. Since I've been at the football club, he trains every single day. He trains really well. He's committed to this football club and he wants to get better as a football player. That's my job, to try and help him.

“I know he has apologised to the team-mates. We had a good conversation. I said to him how I felt and made a couple of things clear to him. He explained what he was attempting to say, and he's learned from the experience, so hopefully we can not have an issue like that again in the future.”

Vargas’ comments to ESPN can be found at the bottom of this Edinburgh News article: Click here

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