Hamilton Academical manager Stuart Taylor has spoken about centre-back Jamie Hamilton’s future, amid reports that Celtic are among the clubs interested in signing the 19-year-old.

The Hoops are said to be one of thirteen teams keen on signing the defender when his contract expires at the end of the season, along with the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Sunderland. However, Taylor has played down speculation linking Hamilton with a move away from the Scottish Championship side:

“I do expect there will be interest in Jamie. And I expect there will be interest in a lot of our players, especially the younger ones. But going on websites, it’s very easy to punch in names of teams and players. It goes under the category of what I’d call ‘pub chat’.”

Hamilton has clearly impressed a lot of scouts, considering the number of sides who are seemingly interested in securing his services.

Celtic are usually quite proactive when it comes to signing young Scottish talent. Players such as David Turnbull and Greg Taylor have been snapped up in recent seasons but, the presence of English Premier League teams in the race for Hamilton, will make this deal a much more difficult one to complete.