Heart of Midlothian manager Ian Cathro is still hopeful of seeing Jamie Walker commit his future to the club amid interest from Rangers.
The 24-year-old winger was in stunning form the Scottish club during the 2016-17 campaign, scoring 15 goals and supplying seven assists from 43 appearances in all competitions.
However, with Walker set to enter the final year of his deal at Tynecastle this summer, Scottish Premiership rivals Rangers have reportedly been alerted to his situation, and are keen to strike a deal.
Rangers have already added eight new signings to their squad ahead of the new season, but manager Pedro Caixinha is not yet looking to down his tools, and is hopeful of adding Walker to his ranks.
Scottish news outlet STV claim that they have made several attempts to prize Walker away from Hearts this summer, however, they have yet to reach an agreement with his current employers.
It is reported that Hearts have rejected one verbal and two written bids for the attacker from Rangers, and manager Cathro is hopeful that they can continue to fight off interest in his services.
He told STV: “The situation with Jamie ended up being a bit too noisy for what it actually was. Some things ended up becoming a bit silly.
“But Jamie has dealt with it fine and trained really well. He is focusing on how he improves himself for next season and he’s in a good place.
“If he doesn’t sign on again his contract will expire and that will be that. But have we given up hope on him agreeing a new deal? Not at all.”
Cathro’s latest response to the interest from Rangers also suggests that he would rather see Walker leave the club on a free at the end of his contract next summer than see him join Rangers this term.
Walker, who has featured previously at youth level for the Scotland national side, has yet to be capped by the senior team, despite his red hot form for Hearts throughout the previous campaign.