Scottish Championship outfit Heart of Midlothian have left their star performer Jamie Walker out of the squad to face Celtic in their opening game of the 2017-18 campaign of Scottish Premiership, as per one of the latest reports.
Walker has been on the wish-list of Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha throughout the summer and after being omitted from the squad which faced Dunfermline last weekend, interim Hearts boss Jon Daly has excluded him from his side’s crucial trip to Celtic Park.
Rangers have been very busy this summer in their recruitments and have already made handful of signings, including the incoming of galvanizing names like Bruno Alves, Ryan Jack, Graham Dorrans and Daniel Candeias to Ibrox Stadium.
However, the former Al-Gharafa manager is seemingly attempting to leave no stone unturned to ensure that he has the requisite firepower in his arsenal in order to hit the ground up and running in the upcoming season, and is desperately trying to lure Walker under his ranks.
Rangers did bid £600,000 to tempt Hearts to strike him off their books, but the Jam Tarts are stubborn in ensuring that they get at least £1m for the former Scotland U21. Walker emerged through the youth ranks of Hearts and his offensive soundness is the primary reason for the high valuation of his stocks.
The 24-year-old is a shrewd player who keeps the game ticking with his astute passes and in the process, he brings his teammates into the equation. Time and again, one could see him testing oppositions goalkeepers and keep the opposition guessing with his movements on and off the ball.
The new signings by the Light Blues did take time to get together as a unit. After their exit from the Europa League at the hands of Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn, the Glasgow based outfit have responded strongly with a draw against Marseille and wins against Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.
However, Caixinha must have kept in mind the inability of his side to find the back of the net on a regular basis last term, and thus, his apparent interest to sign a serially goal scoring midfielder makes perfect sense.
Walker banged 12 league goals in 34 Scottish Premiership appearances for Hearts in the previous campaign, apart from 2 goals in as many games in the Scottish Cup and these statistics are testaments which do tell us a lot.
It is always intriguing to see midfielders chipping in with goals and considering the pedigree as well as the Scottish top tier’s experience which Walker possesses, his entry to the ranks of the Teddy Bears will undoubtedly raise the quality of Caixinha’s ranks.
