A tall order for Razulis at Hearts

HOPE is high in Lithuania that Evaldas Razulis, the striker loaned to Hearts from FBK Kaunas this week, can finally crack the big time in Edinburgh.

He seemed burdened by a billing as his country's most prodigious teenage talent several years ago, but the opportunity to impress in Scotland between now and the season's end is priceless for a player whom many believe has international potential.

Razulis is on a six-month loan at Tynecastle to provide cover for Kevin Kyle, who is currently striving to overcome a groin injury. At 6ft 3in he fits the identikit replacement for the Scotland forward, but beneath that hulking frame lies a sensitive individual who needs nurturing. Many in his homeland are watching with interest to see if there is also a budding internationalist lurking within.

"This is a big moment for Evaldas and I wish him all the best because he is a big striker like me," said Valdas Ivanauskas, the former Hearts head coach who scored eight goals in 28 appearances for Lithuania. "Lithuanian football does not have this kind of player. If he works hard in Scotland, he has a big chance to play for the Lithanian national team. We do not have any other striker like him."

Razulis' previous attempt to establish himself in a reputable European league failed. As a 16-year-old in 2003, he was lured from FK Nafta - a Lithuanian second division club - to Krylya Sovetov Samara of the Russian Premier League. Without friends or family, he suffered alone in the south-eastern Russian city which is over 500 miles from Moscow. Understandably, the difficulties in adapting to cultural change whilst still an adolescent took their toll on his football, and he made little impact on the Krylya Sovetov first team. Injuries did not help his cause.

Those who oversaw his development in Lithuania maintained faith in his talent and Razulis returned home in 2008 to begin re-inventing himself. He played for FK Vetra, Atlantas Klaipeda and FK Silute before Vladimir Romanov took him under the Ukio Bankas Investment Group sporting umbrella. Razulis signed for Kaunas, who are financed by UBIG, in 2009. He then enjoyed a productive loan period at the Belarussian branch of UBIG sports, Partizan Minsk (formely MTZ Ripo), early in 2010. The move to Hearts sees him complete a rare hat-trick.

He arrived in Edinburgh having struck 11 goals in 13 games for Kaunas in the second half of 2010, helping the club gain promotion to the Lithuanian A-Lyga after a two-year absence. There was also a brief loan spell in Latvia playing for Skonto Riga at the indoor Baltic Champions' Cup over the winter. Now 24, he has matured into an individual who is au fait with living and working abroad.

The next step is another tilt at an established European league. Kaunas players are received with some trepidation in Edinburgh following the exploits of Ricardas Beniusis, Arkadiusz Klimek and others. Although it is worth remembering the success enjoyed by the likes of Andrius Velicka and the current Hearts captain Marius Zaliukas - evidence that it is not only duds who are shipped across from the Darius and Girenas Stadium.

Razulis is a more experienced loanee than Beniusis or Klimek. He has sampled the Europa League qualifying rounds and possesses attributes ideally suited to Scottish football. "For Scotland he is a good striker. He is big and strong and he can play in a big team," continued Ivanauskas.

"He played for teams in Lithuania and also in Belarus. I think playing in Belarus was a very good step for him because he played under coaches who liked him. He only played there for half a season but he did well and became stronger. Last season he came back to Kaunas. Okay, the Lithuanian second league is not so strong, but he scored goals. The step to Hearts is very important for him if he understands the situation and the opportunity he has in Scotland. He must understand the football life in your country, it is not easy.

"Marius Zaliukas can help him a lot because he is captain at Hearts. He has played for a lot of years in Scotland and knows the mentality and the football in your country. "Scotland is a big football country and Evaldas must adapt to a new way of living again. He must make sure he learns English quickly if he does not speak the language."

If Razulis can replicate the form he showed as a teenager in Lithuania, he could earn himself a more permanent stay at Tynecastle. Just after the turn of the century he was ranked amongst eastern Europe's brightest footballing prospects and Ivanauskas believes that potential remains untapped. "At 15 or 16-years-old he was one of the best players in Lithuania for his age. He played a lot of games for our national under-15, under-16 and under-17 teams and was regarded as the finest young player in our country. He moved to Samara and it looked like he had a big future.

"He played for the second team there because he was very young but he had chances to play in the first team. In Russia, living is not so easy. There is the language and also mentally I think he was not ready for this big career step.

"He was playing for the second team in Samara but then he had some injuries. I think mentally he was very young. He didn't have friends or a manager or agent. He had to stop living in Russia because living in Russia is not like living in the rest of Europe.

"If you go to Russia as a young player with big prospects they give you big chances, but he was alone. A lot of agents live in Russia who are not serious. There were people who were not serious about Evaldas. I think it was a big mistake to leave him there. It would have been better to have two players from Lithuania there. After the injuries he came back to Lithuania and he was an older player. He understood his situation and now he has moved to Scotland. It is another big opportunity but he is older now and I think he is able to cope better."