CRAIG Levein last night admitted Hearts will sell Jamie Walker if they receive an offer which matches their valuation this summer after the player informed them he wants to leave Tynecastle.
Levein, the director of football at the capital club, confirmed he had already received enquiries about the winger, who was named supporters’ player of the year in the 2016/17 campaign, which have been turned down.
The 23-year-old, who is under contract until the end of next season, has been a first team regular at Hearts since breaking into the first team five years ago, but he now sees his future elsewhere.
It is a setback to manager Ian Cathro, who has tried in vain to persuade Walker to stay, at the end of a disappointing season in which his side has underperformed and finished fifth in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
The news the former Scotland Under-21 internationalist is intent on leaving has led to speculation that he may join their top flight rivals Rangers where Pedro Caixinha is currently strengthening his squad and welcomed Bruno Alves, the Portuguese centre half, yesterday.
“It’s not a particular surprise,” said Levein. “I’ve got a degree of understanding of it. He’s been at the club for a certain time and all these kids have gone through a tough period. They come out the other end of it as better and stronger players. They feel they’re ready to make a step. I get that. I understand it.
“It’s a normal thing to sell a player. We’ve had a couple of phone calls. We don’t want to lose him, but if the right offer comes in then we’ll need to consider it. None of the calls have been close to the right offer. I’d like to keep him and that probably taints your judgment, but I can understand his position.”
Meanwhile, Levein has admitted Hearts have failed to bring in good enough players during the last two transfer windows and will need to recruit better in the coming weeks if Cathro is to justify his appointment as manager next season.
The former Dundee United, Hearts and Scotland manager, though, defended the 30-year-old, who only managed to win five league games after replacing Robbie Neilson back in December, and predicted he would come good in due course.
“The facts are that Ian’s record since he arrived at the club is pretty much the same as mine after I arrived,” he said. “If we’re going to appoint a young coach, we need to give him time to learn.
Levein described claimes he had interfered in first team matters, including during games, this season as “a lot of s****”. He said: “I laugh at this constant nonsense.”
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