Robbie Neilson insists he would prefer John Souttar to stay at Hearts until the end of the season - even if he runs down his contract.
The defender is out of contract in the summer and can open pre-contract talks from next week.
Rangers and Celtic are both interested but Record Sport understands that the 25-year-old’s preference is to try his luck south of the border.
Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Middlesbrough, Luton, Queen’s Park Rangers, Birmingham, Blackpool and Preston have all expressed an interest in the Scotland cap.
But Neilson insists the club are in no rush to sell their star defender before the end of the campaign unless a massive offer is put on the table.
He told Sky Sports : "Obviously there is interest, because he has come back to really good form and fitness, and played for Scotland and scored the goal.
"From our perspective he's got a contract until the end of the season, and unless we get a bid we can't refuse he will be here until at least the end of the season.
'The owner and Joe Savage have been speaking to him and we feel we have put together a very good contract for him so it's just negotiating that now.
"John is coming into a period of his contract where he can speak to other teams, but at this moment in time he is still a Hearts player.
"If he does decide to leave, it will take a huge bid in January or he will see out his contract and everyone will leave happy."
When asked if any clubs had been in touch over the deal, he stated: "This is a matter of the club, the player and the agent negotiating.
"We will offer what we believe a player is worth.
"John for us is a key player and hopefully he will help us finish as high in the league.
"From my perspective as a coach I'll be pushing to keep him here as long as I can."
