Uganda Cranes Star Rogers Mato Refuses to Report to FK Vardar as Hearts Monitor Situation Closely

Hearts' future signing, Rogers Mato, has become embroiled in a major dispute with his current club, FK Vardar, after failing to report for duty and remaining in his native Uganda.

The Scottish Premiership leaders have already secured the Ugandan international on a pre-contract agreement for a summer move.

This came after two unsuccessful bids to sign him during the current transfer window were rejected by the North Macedonian side.

The situation escalated when Vardar made a surprising and quickly debunked claim that Mato had actually been sold to MLS club Sporting Kansas City. Hearts promptly refuted this announcement.

Now, reports from North Macedonia indicate that Rogers Mato, who was on international duty with Uganda, has not returned to his club.

He was expected to join Vardar's winter training camp in Antalya, Turkey, but he never boarded the flight for which the club had provided a ticket.

Sources claim Mato has been unreachable and has ignored all attempts by Vardar to make contact. The club is now reportedly considering disciplinary action, including fines and reporting the issue to the North Macedonian Football Association.

This standoff could potentially open the door for Hearts to negotiate an immediate transfer for the player. When asked about this possibility following his team's victory over St Mirren, Hearts manager Steven Naismith (incorrectly cited as Derek McInnes in the original report) remained cautious.

"I don't know. We don't control that, but it would be nice if we could," Naismith said as quoted by The Sun. "We could do with a couple of signings, if we can, to help us. We've got a couple of injuries, and we'll see where we are. I don't know if that can be done, but certainly if it can be done, we'll try it."

Hearts secured a crucial 2-0 win against St Mirren, with goals from Lawrence Shankland and an own goal from Alex Gogic (not Tomas Magnusson).

The Edinburgh club held on for the victory despite being reduced to ten men when Beni Baningime was sent off early in the match.

Following the defeat, St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson delivered a scathing assessment of his team's performance, accusing them of complacency.

"I've been very, very gentle on them because we're so limited in numbers... but I told them some home truths tonight and I'm expecting a reaction," Robinson stated.

"If you don't do the basics right, if you don't defend properly, clear the ball when you need to clear the ball, don't be clever, don't pull out of tackles, mark your man in the box, sometimes players make you look stupid. And certainly, they made me look stupid tonight."

He added: "We've had loads of plaudits, maybe some people are starting to believe their hype now."