Robbie Neilson insists he’s awaiting a final nod from Liverpool to seal his deal for Welsh superkid Ben Woodburn.
The Hearts gaffer has targeted the 21-year-old to bolster the squad ahead of Sunday’s Premiership showdown with Aberdeen.
International Woodburn is keen to become Neilson’s fifth arrival of the summer on a loan deal from Anfield.
The attacker wants the switch and a transfer is virtually over the line, but Neilson says he’s still not at this stage received a full green light from Merseyside.
Woodburn was an unused substitute for Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool’s clash against Norwich six days ago and Hearts are ready for his arrival.
But Neilson said: “We are still negotiating with them and trying to get something done.
“He’s keen to come and we’re keen to get him, but he’s a Liverpool player at the moment, so we need to wait for them to make a decision.
“He’s a player we have been watching for a while now and we are trying to get in, but the deal is not done, so we just have to wait and see.
“It’s very early stages. We have made contact, they’re happy to do it, it’s just a case of getting it done.”
Adding Woodburn to the ranks ahead of the Dons clash would be a huge shot in the arm to the Tynecastle squad with the kid’s sky-high talent and reputation.
Neilson can’t wait for the crunch and said: “It’s a big game for us. You think Hibs, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen are the games you look for, especially the home games.
“Hopefully we’ll have a full house for it and it will be brilliant just getting the fans back in and the atmosphere.
“If we want to be where we want to be, we need to beat Celtic, like we did at home. To beat Aberdeen at home. Rangers and Hibs.
“The objective for us is top six and trying to get into Europe. Hearts should be consistently in there.
“Scotland had five teams in this year and we see ourselves trying to get into it, but it’s easier said than done. You have to prove it.
“Speaking to the boys at the beginning of the season, we have an objective of where we want to get to, but the main objective is to win every week. I think you have to do that.
“We’ve managed to do it quite consistently this season, but this is another challenge against Aberdeen.
“They have a very big squad and a strong squad when you look at it.
“Look at the bench and it is full of good players. Us at the moment, we need to add.”
Aberdeen will head to Edinburgh on the back of a gruelling European trip to Azerbaijan for last night’s Conference League Play Off against Qarabag.
But Neilson isn’t reading too much into the Reds’ punishing travel itinerary and said: “It’s difficult to tell. I’ve done long trips before and you can come back and you are flying or you are coming back and it doesn’t work out for you. We’ll see on Sunday.”
Both sides are level on points alongside Hibs at the top of the Premiership with maximum points after two games, but both lost five days ago in the Premier Sports Cup.
It was under-strength Hearts’ first defeat in seven outings when sunk at Celtic Park, but Neilson said: “You are going to lose games and you are obviously disappointed, but you have to try and learn from it and go and win the next game. That’s all you can do
“We knew going into the game we had a few injuries and didn’t have a full squad, so there was an idea we would have a gameplan to try and get a result.
“First-half we had to change it and second-half we managed to do that with a better foothold in the game. But it’s done.”
