English Premier League giants have an agreement in place
Manchester City and Hearts have agreed a transfer deal worth up to £2m for the Riccarton youth academy player Keir McMeekin. The 16-year-old is set to sign a pre-contract agreement with the English Premier League club and move south at the end of the season. Hearts are due training compensation under FIFA rules and have agreed a potentially-rewarding deal with City.
An initial payment of around £400,000 will be wired to Tynecastle Park once McMeekin leaves his formative club. Hearts will then be due various incremental payments over the coming years depending on his progress. The £400,000 figure could rise as high as £2m if the young midfielder makes a certain number of first-team appearances in Manchester. He has already agreed terms with officials at the Etihad Stadium.
Hearts offered McMeekin a professional contract in the hope of persuading him to stay in Edinburgh, but the lure of England proved strong for a player regarded as one of the most talented to emerge from the Riccarton development system. He has been part of Hearts’ academy since joining from Fife-based Duloch Juniors at the age of seven.
The Edinburgh News revealed exclusively last September that Man City were among several high-profile English clubs coveting the signature of the then-15-year-old McMeekin. Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion, plus Liverpool all made approaches and the teenager visited facilities south of the border before settling on City.
He has not played for the Hearts senior side so far but is a regular in first-team training sessions and made several appearances in bounce games this season. McMeekin has represented Scotland at under-15 and under-17 level, although he is also on the radar of England and Northern Ireland. He qualifies for other countries through grandparents.
Several young players have graduated from the Riccarton academy into Hearts’ first-team squad in recent years, including striker James Wilson, defender Adam Forrester, plus midfielders Macaulay Tait, Finlay Pollock and Aidan Denholm. Wilson rejected advances from Manchester United, Aston Villa and Leeds United to sign a professional contract with Hearts at the age of 16.
He became the youngest senior Scotland internationalist in history last year when national coach Steve Clarke gave him his first cap against Greece at Hampden Park aged 18 years and 17 days. He is now on loan at English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, and was named among their substitutes for last month’s London derby against Arsenal.
McMeekin will leave Hearts as they push for a new level of success following the investment of British entrepreneur Tony Bloom. They are currently pursuing a historic Scottish Premiership title triumph, sitting five points clear at the top of the league with nine games of the campaign remaining. The youngster will benefit from the best facilities at one of the world’s richest clubs once he arrives at City this summer. He will initially join their under-18 squad and push towards under-21 level.