Southampton have joined Manchester City on the trail of Hearts derby hero Aaron Hickey.
Saints have had the 17-year-old, who scored the winner against Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday, watched regularly since the end of last season.
Director of football operations Ross Wilson has a number of reports on the talented left-back from his Scottish-based scout.
And, while Southampton have been active in Scotland having signed the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Victor Wanyana, Fraser Forster and Virgil Van Dijk from Celtic, Hickey has now come on to their radar.
The young defender broke onto the scene with Hearts last season where he played in the Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic.
Dundee United winger Scott Banks is another Saints were interested in during the last window but were unable to thrash out a deal.
Manchester City scout Andy Cousins has also watched Banks and Hickey regularly.
The Premier League champions are looking to pick up some of the top, developing talent from north of the border.
Cousins does City’s scouting but also assists with the Northern Irish national team, where he works with Hearts assistant head coach Austin McPhee.
Hickey still has another season after this left on his contract but head coach Craig Levein is hoping to persuade him to sign a new deal.
