In-demand John Souttar is ready to choose Rangers as his next destination, according to a report.
The Hearts centre-back is out-of-contract this summer and has no shortage of options as he edges towards leaving Tynecastle.
Record Sport previously revealed Rangers are one of his final three options along with Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers.
And now The Scottish Sun report Souttar is preparing to turn his back on interest from England to join the Scottish Premiership champions.
It's said the emergence of interest from Ibrox, where plans are being made to replace Connor Goldson if he departs, turned the Scotland international away from moving south of the border.
It's understood Souttar's preference would be to make a January move if a pre-contract can be agreed - but ambitious Hearts are likely to stand firm for a considerable offer.
Robbie Neilson's third-placed side are chasing European football but may now face a major decision over the 25-year-old.
The manager and sporting director Joe Savage have been considering replacements and have already softened the blow of a potential exit by tying up Craig Halkett on a new deal.
Neilson has insisted it would require "really big money" for the club to let Souttar go before the end of the January window.
“We’ve obviously got a number of players out of contract but we’re not in a situation where we need to sell them,” he said.
“I’ve had a chat with sporting director Joe Savage and the board. And we know that, unless somebody comes in willing to pay really big money for somebody, they’ll stay here until the end of the season because the objective this season is to get into Europe.
“And that financially is worth a lot of money to the club – certainly enough to outweigh any mediocre bid we’re going to get for a player.
“It’s good to be reassured on that front. We’ve got a strong board and financially we’re in a good position so we don’t need to sell. I’m confident that will be the case.
“The important thing from the football side is we’re sitting in that European position right now. We need to be there at the end of the season to get the financial rewards from that, so we can build again.”
