Walsall are set to see key frontman Elijah Adebayo after it was reported he has agreed terms with Scottish club Hearts.
The striker has been in excellent form this season and an initial bid from the Scottish Championship side was rebuffed but it is now believed the player will join the Tynecastle club.
The 23-year-old has netted 10 times in 28 appearances in all competitions this season for the Saddlers with his form attracting attention from north of the border.
According to the Edinburgh News, the player has agreed a contract in principle which is allowed after he entered the final six months of his deal at the Bescott Stadium.
Darrell Clarke was extremely angry about the initial approach Hearts made saying: “I’m not going to say a lot on it, but I’m very angry and disappointed with the way Hearts have conducted themselves. I’ve left that to the powers that be at the football club, but I’m not a happy man at all. Especially when teams tell lies and it gets out in the public domain.
“That frustrates me but it’s been dealt with by Stefan Gamble, who is a great CEO.
“As a football club we do things the right way and it’s disappointing when other clubs don’t act in the manner we expect them to act.
“That frustrates me but it’s been dealt with by Stefan Gamble, who is a great CEO.
“As a football club we do things the right way and it’s disappointing when other clubs don’t act in the manner we expect them to act.”
His comments did not go down well north of the border and Hearts manager Robbie Neilson was quick to respond, telling the Edinburgh News:
“It’s well documented we put an offer in for Adebayo,” he said. “It initially got knocked back so we will see where that one goes and whether we go back in again.
“He has been the No.1 target for us for a while now. Ultimately, he is their player. He scored two goals again on Saturday. We just need to see if we can come to some agreement.
“I spoke to their manager on Friday night about it. The problem was that they didn’t understand the rules, so I had to explain to them what the rules are when it’s a cross-border transfer.
“They thought they were going by the English FA rules – that a player can only speak to other clubs when he enters the last month of his contract.
“The FIFA rules are that he can speak when he enters the last six months. They didn’t understand that.
“If the player is contracted for more than six months then you need to speak to the club [to get permission to speak to him].
“As soon as he goes into the last six months of his contract, the player can speak to anyone, his agent can speak to anyone, and other clubs can speak to him. So that’s what we did.
“Once you come to an agreement with the player then you go and approach the club. They didn’t understand that.
“I explained that to them and I think they jumped in naively to an interview without having the full facts. It’s just one of those things.
“I’m sure they will look at it. I’m pretty sure they will know the next time it happens when somebody comes in from outwith England.
“I was very disappointed in their comments that’s why I phoned their manager about it. I hope he understands it. I hope he realises that what he said the other day isn’t acceptable.”
Walsall beat Port Vale at the weekend with Adebayo bagging himself a brace. He will be a big loss to the Saddlers who are only two points outside the play-off places.