Manager reveals why attacker reportedly on Rangers radar was axed from squad
By Danny Wright
Hearts manager Ian Cathro has revealed that attacker Jamie Walker is struggling to “maintain his focus” amid reported interest from Rangers.
Hearts confirmed on their official Twitter account that the 24-year-old has been axed from their squad for the Betfred Cup clash with Dunfermline on Saturday.
Ibrox Noise has reported that the Light Blues are confident of landing the attack-minded winger in August and that a deal has essentially been completed.
Cathro has now made it clear that the continual link to Ibrox has seen the player slip down his immediate pecking order, as the Tynecastle boss has suggested that he has opened the door for other squad members to shine.
“The situation with Jamie is one that we’re all aware of. There’s been a lot of speculation and attention on him across the summer,” said Cathro in a pre-match interview as shown on BT Sport Football’s official Twitter account on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s been difficult for him and in this situation we want to support him because he’s been a young player at this club since the age of nine-years-old.
“But he’s maybe struggling a little bit to maintain his focus and it’s starting to affect his performance levels a bit.
“So we reach today and we have players more deserving of a place in the team.”
Walker had started all three of Hearts’ other fixtures in the Scottish League Cup group stages against Elgin, East Fife and Peterhead.
The former Scotland Under-21 international was a key part of the Jam Tarts’ squad last season as he scored 15 goals and supplied seven assists in 43 appearances across all competitions.
He even managed to bag a brace in the 4-1 hammering of Rangers at Tynecastle in early January.
Football Insider Verdict
Cathro’s comments do not give away any clues about an impeding move to Rangers, but it’s easy to guess that Walker has been left out of his squad became a transfer to Ibrox could be close. Walker is too much of an invaluable part of the Hearts squad to simply drop him from the match against Dumfermline all together. His goals and assist record last season highlights how important he is to the Jam Tarts and they might struggle without him. However Pedro Caixinha will be bagging a very capable winger if he manages to get a deal completed for the winger. He is proven in the Scottish Premiership, unlike Dalcio and Daniel Candeias, who need some solid competition for places.
In other Rangers news, the Light Blues have missed out on the chance to land this 24-year-old midfielder from England.
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