Livingston join the race to land Hearts man Elliot on loan deal

LIVINGSTON have joined Inverness in pursuit of Hearts striker Calum Elliot, who remains in limbo while club officials attempt to finalise his season-long loan agreement.

A prospective move to MK Dons now appears unlikely for Elliot but Livingston are confident that their close proximity to Edinburgh will be sufficient to sway the player towards Almondvale.

The West Lothian club are also attempting to negotiate a loan for Hearts' out-of-favour goalkeeper Anthony Basso in addition to their search for a centre-forward. "We are talking with Hearts about both players," said Tomasso Angelini, the Livingston director who doubles as Basso's agent.

"I know Calum Elliot is a good player and that Inverness are interested but Livingston is much closer to Edinburgh and we hope that will be a factor for him.

"I'm confident of bringing him to the club and we will keep talking to Hearts. It's the same situation with Anthony."

It's likely that Elliot would be unable to play against Hearts were he to join a club in the same division such as Inverness, another factor which could work in favour of First Division Livingston.

"I think for Calum it is necessary to have some change in his life, to take more experience," said Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo recently.

"Calum is a talented player, but at the moment for his development and also for Hearts, it's very important now to maybe loan this player, to be more confident in a new club. Then after that we'll bring him back."

SPL newcomers Hamilton pursued Elliot until recently but were unable to agree terms with the striker. "I wanted him but we couldn't agree so, while I wouldn't close the door on Calum because he is a good player, we have had to look at other players and we have made our signings now," said Billy Reid, the Hamilton manager.

Meanwhile, Laszlo revealed today that Ugandan internationalist midfielder David Obua has a "small chance" of featuring against Rangers this weekend.

"Obua does not have much time but I have been in touch with him and I know he has been training hard in Uganda. It depends on when he arrives in Edinburgh but I think he will have a small chance to play some of the match on Saturday," said the Hungarian.

A LATE strike earned Hearts reserves a share of the spoils against Motherwell at Forthbank in their opening match of the season.

Stephen Husband was on hand to rescue a point for a strong Hearts side, hitting home the leveller 15 minutes from time.

Assistant manager Werner Burger said: "A lot of the boys had not played for a long time, like Armstrong, Park and McLaughlin, so it was good for them to get a game."

Speaking to Hearts News, he added: "We also had three of our first-team players, Christian Nade, Ruben Palazuelos and Eggert Jonsson and they all tried to do their best.

"I think we played quite well in the first half but I think that in the second half we had some more problems and some of the players showed that they have not played so many games."