Alfie Osbourne is catching eyes down south and Arsenal and Man City are leading the chase
12:09, 26 Mar 2026
Alfie Osborne and Gregor Burn training with Hearts
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Alfie Osborne and Gregor Burn training with Hearts(Image: SNS Group)
Manchester City and Arsenal are both keen on Hearts youngster Alfie Osborne.
The English Premier League title chasers both checked out the talented central defender in Scotland’s Under-19 clash with Italy this week.
Aston Villa, Leeds and Fulham were amongst other Premier League clubs who had Osborne and his fellow young Scots watched in Wednesday’s Euro qualifier at Airdrie.
The teenager impressed despite the 3-0 for Neil MacFarlane’s side in their defeat to the Italians.
Osborne is out-of-contract at the end of the season and could be snapped up for as little as £160,000 in training compensation by clubs outside of Scotland.
That has alerted both City and the Gunners who have been watching and tracking Osborne in action for club and country.
A lot of the English Premier League had some of their senior staff up at the game to make final checks on the towering centre half ahead of possible summer offers.
The majority of clubs will take the chance to watch him play against Republic of Ireland on Saturday in Scotland’s next Euro qualifier.
Scotland have a number of exciting talents that the English Premier League clubs are watching closely. The likes of Fletcher Boyd has already won a big-money move from Aberdeen to Aston Villa.
Osborne has caught the eye coming through the Jambos’ academy.
Hearts have one of the top academies in the country.
They have just agreed a deal to sell Keir McMeekin to Manchester City.
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The teenager could eventually net Hearts up to £2million if they hit various add-ons and instalments.
McMeekin was also courted by Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson but decided to move to their city rivals.