Hearts reject Ipswich offers for Jordan McGhee

Ipswich Town have made a £250,000 bid for Jordan McGhee. Picture: SNS

Mick McCarthy, manager of the English Championship club, wants a new centre-back and has now submitted two bids for 19-year-old McGhee.

Both have been refused by Hearts, although Ipswich are now considering whether to return with a third offer.

McGhee is contracted until 2017 at Tynecastle and is regarded as a youngster with huge potential. He can play right-back or centre-back and was heavily involved during pre-season before dropping out of the starting line-up for Sunday’s Ladbrokes Premiership opener against St Johnstone. He appeared as a second-half substitute in the 4-3 win over the Saints.

He wants to play regularly to accelerate his development having made his senior debut for Hearts at the age of 16.

Robbie Neilson, the Edinburgh club’s head coach, has stated publicly that McGhee would be involved more at first-team level this season.

He started last week’s League Cup first round tie against Arbroath at Tynecastle, scoring Hearts’ first goal in a 4-2 win over the League 2 side.

Ipswich’s £250,000 bid does not meet Hearts’ valuation of the player. The East Anglian side must decide whether to increase their offer before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month.

l Dave Mackay and Murray Davidson have both made their comebacks from injury for St Johnstone’s development team.

The pair started for the second team against Partick Thistle yesterday after missing the start of the Ladbrokes Premiership season.

Mackay underwent hip surgery in May while Davidson looked set to be out for several months after suffering a strained cruciate ligament in St Johnstone’s Europa League defeat by Alashkert on 2 July.