Oliver Bozanic reveals plan to join British club after Hearts exit

Australian midfielder aims to stay in the UK next season
Oliver Bozanic is keen to stay in Britain after leaving Hearts.Oliver Bozanic is keen to stay in Britain after leaving Hearts.
Oliver Bozanic is keen to stay in Britain after leaving Hearts.

Australian midfielder Oliver Bozanic plans to continue playing in Britain after leaving Hearts and aims to secure a contract in Scotland or England.

The 31-year-old is back at his family home near Sydney but harbours firm ambitions of returning to the United Kingdom to continue his career next season.

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He was released by Hearts when his contract expired at the end of May despite wanting to stay following the club’s relegation from the Scottish Premiership.

He believes his style of play is ideally suited to the British game having played for Reading, Woking, Cheltenham Town and Aldershot before arriving at Tynecastle Park two years ago.

Bozanic told the Evening News that he is now waiting for another opportunity on either side of the Border. “I have had some interest coming in but at this stage I would like to be back in the UK,” he said.

“British football has been a bit slower getting back on its feet. Other countries have been back training earlier but things are starting to progress now.

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"I'm just waiting for the right opportunity. I'm not going to rush into it. I just want to make the right decision on the next move for myself and my family. Hopefully that won't be too far off.

“I'm open to both Scotland and England so I'm waiting to see. I feel I had a good couple of years with Hearts and I really want to give it another few years over in the UK.

“There are definitely plenty of opportunities and you can play at a very high level there. That's where I want to be for the next few years.”

Bozanic held talks with the Hearts owner Ann Budge back in March after Scottish football was forced into shutdown by the coronavirus outbreak.

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It became apparent at that point that he would not be offered an extension to the two-year contract he signed in summer 2018.

“I was still very much interested in staying. The coronavirus stopped the season and the club were under a lot of financial pressure. That made it almost impossible,” admitted the player.

“I did have a chat with Ann about how they needed to go with pay cuts. It is what it is. The club need to make difficult decisions and at that stage there was no definite answer on whether we would be in the Premiership or Championship.”

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