Cammy Devlin has revealed the cry for help he received from Hearts teammate Kenneth Vargas after he claimed to be misinterpreted in an interview.
Vargas did an interview with ESPN while back in Costa Rica on international duty and his quotes were translated as a strong hint he would like to leave the club in January, along with criticisms of the standard of Scottish football.
Hearts fans did not react well to the bombshell comments with some pointing out the player’s own performances hadn’t exactly been up to scratch.
But the 22-year-old later issued a statement apologising and claiming he had been misinterpreted from the interview which was conducted in Spanish.
Devlin details Vargas message
Cammy Devlin is close with Hearts teammate Kenneth Vargas was was contacted by the Costa Rican.
The forward insisted his comments had been taken out of context and was worried about how they would be taken by the Tynecastle support.
In a panic, he contacted his pal for help.
Devlin explained: “I didn’t see anything while he was away. I was in Scotland and he texted me saying: ‘Can you please help me? I’ve been misinterpreted.’
“Obviously it’s the language thing. I hadn’t actually seen what was the interview or whatever, so I was texting him back and forth and then obviously saw the article.
“I just told him: ‘The only way you can win them [fans] back is by working your socks off and scoring a few goals.
“Kenny’s a young kid and maybe whatever he said he shouldn’t have said, but he’s a lovely guy and I can say hand on my heart that he absolutely loves being here. We’ve got a really good rapport with him.
“I don’t think he would have signed his five-year deal if he didn’t love being here, so I know he loves being here.
“Maybe he said a few things that, you know, a bit naive and he probably regrets saying, but yeah, he’s just a kid and I know that he’ll keep working hard.
“Hopefully the goals start falling for him and hopefully he can win them back over, but I can completely understand the misunderstanding kind of thing.”
What Vargas said about Hearts future
Vargas is an ambitious young player and admitted he would like to play at a higher level.
But he went further than that and claimed that could happen in January with clubs interested and a clause in his Hearts contract.
He also claimed his club would be fine with it as they had already made it clear he was an asset they would look to trade on.
Asked about a potential move by ESPN, he said: “Yes, it’s no secret, Hearts is a great place, it’s a great team, but one always looks for better options, the ability to show oneself and compete.
“I would like to go somewhere else where I can have a better place and compete more. I don’t want my words to be misinterpreted, but I want more friction, to play against better-level players.
“There’s a possibility that I could leave in January, it does not depend on me, there is a clause, if a team comes and pays, I am the one who has the final say, but these things are not in my hands. The clause is there. I have no problem negotiating.
“I still have a while left, until 2029, but from what I have been told there are clubs interested, there is a possibility that I could leave.”
Raging former Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson branded Vargas ‘disrespectful’ and urged him to ‘stop the nonsense’ and get to work.
Hearts chiefs planned to speak to Vargas upon his return but manager Neil Critchley then revealed there was a complication with the player only getting back from international duty the day before they were due to play Celtic.
The forward came on as a sub in the match and was met with a small amount of booing from his own fans.