BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Hearts are bracing themselves for a third bid for Scotland under-21 starlet Jordan McGhee from Ipswich Town.
The capital club have rejected two official approaches from their English Championship counterparts, with the most recent offer believed to be in the region of £250,000.
However, Town boss Mick McCarthy, who is a keen admirer of the 19-year-old, is expected to return to the table before the closure of the transfer window.
Ipswich recently banked a whopping £8 million transfer fee after selling defender Tyrone Mings to Barclay’s Premier League new boys Bournemouth.
There is no imperative for Jambos director of football Craig Levein to let one of the club’s prize assets leave Tynecastle, having tied McGhee to a new deal in January.
He is contracted to the club until the summer of 2017 and £250,000 is well below the Jambos’ asking price for a defender who made his first-team debut for the club at the age of 16 and has gone onto make 44 appearances.
Despite the teenager making just 15 starts last term, Hearts boss Robbie Neilson has previously described McGhee as “one of the top prospects in the Scottish game”.
Neilson has assured McGhee he will feature more in the first-team this term, however the Gorgie men have added Blazej Augustyn and Igor Rossi Branco to their centre-back options.
