Antti Niemi's agent last night said he expects to tie up a satisfactory agreement with Hearts later this month that will see the former Rangers goalkeeper stay on at Tynecastle.

The 29-year-old Finnish internationalist spoke on Friday of his desire to sign a contract extension at Tynecastle, despite still having 18 months of his current contract to run, and it now looks increasingly likely Hearts will be able to hold on to a player the Hearts supporters worried would be the next big name to leave the club.

Since signing for (pounds) 450,000 from Rangers in December 1999, Niemi has been the subject of constant speculation linking him with moves to the English Premiership.

However, his representative, Richard Cody, last night spoke of his confidence that a satisfactory deal can be brokered with the Hearts chief executive, Chris Robinson, claiming money should not be a stumbling block to an agreement.

He said: ''I am meeting Chris Robinson later this month and it is not a question of being hopeful because there has never been a problem at any time with Hearts. They have asked to speak with me and the only reason I have not done so before now is because we have not been able to timetable a meeting.

''Antti is not asking for the earth, not at all. I know what his value is and so do Hearts. All along our dealings to this day have been very good, which is contrary to what some reports have suggested. If you look at other countries, Antti is not old for a goalkeeper and he does not see this as his final contract.

''He is very settled at Hearts. It is a good club, he has never ever asked for a transfer and gets on well with the management there. If he did not want to stay, he would not have bought a new house in Edinburgh, which is only a year old. He also has a young family and he and his wife are very happy.''