Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has admitted he doesn't expect the club to re-sign Ellis Simms from Everton this summer.
The striker spent the second half of the campaign in Scotland and enjoyed a strong spell with the Edinburgh-based club. He scored seven goals in 21 appearances across all competitions including helping his temporary side to the final of the Scottish Cup, which they lost to Rangers.
A second successful loan in as many seasons for Simms has sparked a lot of transfer rumours early in the current window. A number of sides have been linked with a potential swoop, on loan or permanently, with Hearts being one of those.
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However, their manager isn't too confident that they would be able to get the deal over the line, despite having European football to offer. Neilson revealed that a number of Championship clubs are in the hunt for Simms, and he believes their ability to contribute a higher percent of Simms' wages could be the key factor.
"I’d love to get him back and we’re trying to get him back, but if I’m being brutally honest, I don’t think we’ll get him back," he told the Scarves Around the Funnel podcast [via Daily Record ].
"There’s a lot of Championship teams in England that have contacted me asking about him. Obviously I’ve said he’s been terrible! There’s a lot of teams that have been watching him and want to take him, so that’s where we are at the moment.
"We bring these guys in, give them a platform and try to progress them. Then if they do well, they move on again. We’d love to do it but I just don’t see it happening.
"I know we have (European football) but what they have is finances. We just made a small contribution to his wage. If he goes to the Championship. Someone can pay a much larger contribution or all of his salary. That’s what I can see happening."
