HITC suggest that we could sell Barrie McKay for £2.5m in the summer. The Scotsman has fallen out of favour under Karanka and the writing seems to be on the wall for the player after being left out of the matchday squad that played against QPR.
Our No.10 has not made it onto the bench for five of the last seven league games, and with other players now stepping up the mark, the likelihood of a first team return is looking remote.
With Matty Cash, Joe Lolley and Lee Tomlin all excelling and getting on the scoresheet in the 5-2 win midweek, it seems like the 23-year-old won`t get a look in. Although injuries and loss of form of other players could offer him a way back, it seems he could be one of the first out of the door in the summer.
There`s no doubt that the previous manager managed to get the midfielder on the cheap when we signed him for just £500,000 from Rangers, and his figures in the Reds shirt show he was more than worth what we shelled out for him.
Five goals and seven assists in 26 games is not a bad return for the winger, and there should be a number of Championship teams, as well as Scottish Premiership sides, who would be interested in signing him at the end of the season.
The Scottish international was sold by Rangers after the midfielder fell out with manager Pedro Caixinha, but now the Portuguese boss has departed Ibrox, it is likely the Scottish club are interested in re-signing the player.
With his record in the Championship boosting his valuation, I don`t think the club would accept anything less than a sizeable profit if his former club do come calling, even if it looks as though he will be frozen out by the manager until the end of the season.
Still, if we do get a decent amount of money for McKay, it will at least by one good thing that came out of Mark Warburton`s ill-fated reign as boss.
