John Souttar is close to signing a pre-contract with Rangers.
The Scotland international is wanted by several English Championship clubs.
Souttar is expected to join Rangers after initial talks.
Sky Sports News understands that the 25-year-old wants a permanent move this month.
Souttar joined the club six years ago and has made over 150 appearances.
Souttar has played all but two games this season after several serious injuries, and his performances earned him a Scotland recall.
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Three years after he last appeared for Scotland, Souttar scored a goal against the Danes.
Souttar won't be sold by Hearts.
"We will not cash in on Souttar this month unless we get a huge offer during the transfer window," said managerRobbie Neilson earlier in the season.
He said that he's here until the end of the season if we can't refuse.
It will take a huge bid in January to get him to move on, or he will see out his contract and hopefully leave happy.
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The club would be sold in January, according to the boss.
"He is a key player who will hopefully help us finish as high up the league as we can and go as far as we can in the cup, so you have to balance off the two sides of it."
"From my perspective as a coach, I'll be pushing to keep him here for as long as I can because he's such a key part of the team."
There are contingency plans in place if Souttar leaves.
He said that they always have a number of players in each position. We know what we're doing if a player leaves, because we have one, two, and three targets in every position.
What would Souttar bring to the team?
Souttar's ability to be an imposing figure on the pitch is there for all to see.
The defender helped his side at both ends of the pitch as they beat Celtic in the first match of the season.
His ability to guide his fellow defenders through the match was impressive, as was his desire to get on the end of a cross to head home the winning goal.
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Souttar scored a late goal to stun Celtic.
James Tavernier and Borna Barisic will be excited by that presence.
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson has spoken about the need to be forward- thinking around recruitment and this move shows the club are continuing to progress in this area.
Souttar could replace the Englishman if he doesn't agree a new deal by the end of the season.
The Ibrox club are currently top of the league but this move shows they are planning for the future.
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