Inflation Hits Driver Price Tag

"The national team and Hearts is different"

Hearts have come to terms with the fact that Andy Driver is not worth the £2m price tag they placed on him. They now think that he is more likely to be worth £4m following his involvement with Stuart Pearce's England side at the European Under-21 Championship. Driver made his under-21 international debut for England against Germany on Monday evening in Halmstad. Since then, owner Vladimir Romanov has been quoted a figure of f €5m (£4.3m) for Driver to interested parties.

Coventry City are long-term admirers of Driver, who is contracted to Hearts until June 2013, but other clubs in England are also watching the situation the player. Coventry chairman Ray Ranson and manager Chris Coleman have been to Edinburgh to watch Driver against Hibs last month after seeing their January offer of £1m for his services knocked back. Ranson had been quoted a price of £2m but if Romanov is serious about the new price it is most likely that Coventry will look elsewhere. Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo has already advised Driver to continue his development at Tynecastle, but interest in the 21-year-old is expected to heighten if England continue to progress in the UEFA European Championship.

Laszlo said: "I was pleased for Andrew and for us. It was a very high moment in his life to play for England Under-21s and we all must be happy about everything that has happened at the club in the last year. For him to play in the European Championship is very special and something you don't always get to do. There was the talk of him having the chance to play for Scotland and now he has played for England Under-21s in a big tournament and this is a very nice thing for him, definitely. The national team and Hearts is different. He will get the confidence here and I think it is important for Andrew Driver to stay one or two years more here at Tynecastle to learn the football and stabilise his performance, not only on the field but outside the field as well. He can then go to the next level if he gets the possibility."