THE ink may hardly be dry on Jose Goncalves' new two-year deal with Hearts, but the defender admitted today he may have played his last game for the club.
The Portuguese under-21 star signed the contract extension at the start of last month but was then immediately sent on a season-long loan spell to German Bundesliga 2 side Nuremberg.
The Evening News exclusively revealed Nuremberg's interest i
n the player in June and the Frankenstadion outfit have negotiated first option on Goncalves in an agreement similar to that which saw Roman Bednar join West Brom this summer.
While Hearts open their SPL season with a visit from Motherwell this Saturday, Goncalves will be gearing up for the start of the German campaign next weekend.
Nuremberg get underway with a match against FC Augsburg before facing Hearts' pre-season conquerors, Kaiserslautern, as they bid to reclaim a place in the country's top flight after being relegated last year.
Nuremberg are among the favourites to make the step back up and Goncalves revealed that there is every chance he won't be back at Tynecastle again when his loan deal expires next summer.
"I can't say for certain where my future will be because I have only just arrived at Nuremberg but I'm enjoying being here," said the left sided defender, speaking exclusively to the Evening News.
"I still have a contract with Hearts but Nuremberg have first option to sign me and, if they don't, it's possible I will have other options too.
"It is impossible to say what will happen in football. I know that for now, though, I am only thinking of Nuremberg and trying to do well for them."
Goncalves first joined the Jambos in January 2006 in a loan move from FBK Kaunas and immediately won over the club's supporters with a series of impressive displays.
His pedigree spoke for itself having represented his country at age-group level and having played in the Champions League group stages for Swiss side FC Thun.
However, as events off the field at Tynecastle began to descend into turmoil, Goncalves' performances appeared to suffer and he quickly started to look like a player short on confidence.
Last season, in particular, he struggled and was disciplined by Hearts and dropped for a clash with Inverness Caley Thistle for storming out of Tynecastle after being substituted during a heavy defeat to Rangers at Tynecastle. He later apologised for his actions.
He did regain his place in interim head coach Stephen Frail's starting XI towards the end of the campaign as the Jambos slumped to a hugely-disappointing eighth place finish in the SPL but failed to hit anything like the kind of form he produced in his early days with the Gorgie side.
And Goncalves, who has turned out 48 times for Hearts, admitted he is relishing the chance of a fresh start.
"I am really enjoying being part of the team and I am delighted to be here. I'm very happy," said the 22-year-old.
"I have played most of the pre-season and results have mostly been good. I'm enjoying being involved. It's a big season for the club because we want to be back in the top division. We have the capacity to do this and we must try to achieve this.
"Even though we are not in the top division just now it's still a really good standard. At Nuremberg we have a lot of very good players and we have guys like Andy Wolf and Ivan Saenko so we have a lot of real quality in the squad.
"I think it shows how high the standard is because they would not want to stay here if it wasn't good. They believe we can do well.
"I hope to play in the first game of the season but it's the manager's decision. I've been involved in most of the games so far and I hope I've done enough to keep my place. I want to play in every game and to do well for the team.
"Here with my new team I feel comfortable because I know the style of football in Germany because in Switzerland it is very similar. I think it suits me."
While Goncalves is focused on trying to take Nuremberg back into Germany's top flight alongside the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, he revealed that he has been keeping an eye on events unfolding at Tynecastle. Goncalves is still in regular contact with his old Gorgie team-mates and watched with interest on television as Hearts rounded off their pre-season schedule with a well-deserved 1-0 win over English Premier League new boys Hull City last Sunday.
In that match, Andy Driver had to be deployed in an unfamiliar left-back role with an injury to Lee Wallace exposing the lack of cover in that position following Goncalves' departure.
The victory followed a couple of disappointing results on the club's pre-season tour of Germany but the Hull result has given supporters cause for optimism ahead of the new season and the defender is confident that Hearts can improve on last year's dismal showing. "I'm always in touch with Bruno (Aguiar) and Ruben (Palazuelos, pictured left) and we talk a lot," he said. "I saw that the club beat Hull recently and that was a very good result for them.
"You need a good result before the start of the real action and that will give them confidence.
"There are still many good players at Hearts and I hope that they do well this season. It is important to improve results after last season and I will look for the results and to see how they are getting on.
"I wish Hearts luck for the new season but I have to focus on my new team now. I have to concentrate on my own game and on trying to do well here."
