Is Hearts winger Jamie Walker set for a Rangers move after his opening day omission?

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Jamie Walker has been dropped from Hearts’ squad ahead of their Scottish Premiership opener versus Celtic, the Scottish Sun report.

The club’s interim boss, Jon Daly, says the wingers’ head has been turned as the midfielder tries to force through a move to Rangers.

The 24-year-old attacker, who still has one year left on his current contract, has been the subject of multiple failed bids by the Gers, including one believed to be in the region of £600,000, BBC Sport reports.

However, Tynecastle chiefs are demanding £1 million for the winger, according to the Scotsman.

Although the Gers are not prepared to pay such a massive sum, they haven’t given up hope as Director of Football, Craig Levein, told BBC Sport that Walker wants to leave the Jambos.

According to the Daily Record, Cathro has blamed the amount of attention and speculation surrounding Walker’s future for his drop in focus. He said:“It’s been quite a difficult situation for him, which I think at first, he’s managed to deal with well and of course we’ll support him.

“I love his talent, I love the way that he plays but I would say just now it’s just starting to affect his focus and his performance levels with us a little bit.”

Is the Edinburgh winger set for a Rangers move?

Last season, Walker was a regular first team player for Hearts, making 39 appearances and scoring a total of 15 goals.

He came up big for his side in Robbie Neilson’s last game in charge in the club’s Scottish Premiership encounter with Rangers, most notably firing in a viscous cross for Robbie Muirhead, who made the score 2-0.

Walker was one of Heart’s standouts in pre-season and played at the top of his game in Hearts’ matches against Newcastle United and Linfield. He scored one of the goals in their 4-1 victory over the latter and netted the only goal in their 2-1 defeat to the former, in which he was named man-of-the-match for his side.

After the Newcastle defeat, fellow teammate Don Cowie spoke of Walkers skill to the Daily Record: “The only thing that surprises me is there only seems to be one team that want him.

“You see the end product, the goals, the technique. There aren’t many players like him, especially in Scotland.”

However, Walker is a lifelong Rangers fan, which may impact his decision to leave for the Glasgow team.

Kevin Kyle, who has watched Walker come up through the ranks at Hearts and made the same switch from the Jambos to the Gers, believes part of his final decision will come down to wanting to play for his “boyhood heroes.” He told the Scottish Sun: “I would love to see him stay at Hearts, it is a good club.

“But I know that he is a boyhood Rangers fan and he attends Rangers games when he gets the opportunity so I would presume it is a lifelong ambition for Jamie to play for Rangers. I am sure he will want that deal to happen and if it does then good luck to him.”