Hamilton are pursuing up to £900k from Aberdeen for Lewis Ferguson, STV Sport understands.

The talented young midfielder, son of former Rangers midfielder Derek and nephew to ex-Light Blues skipper Barry, signed a pre-contract agreement with the Dons in May after rejecting Accies’ offer, and will move to Pittodrie this summer.

After the deal was confirmed, Reds boss Derek McInnes said he was happy with the training compensation figure Aberdeen would have to pay the New Douglas Park side for Ferguson.

He said: “We’re happy with the amount of training compensation to pay. He plays with an edge to his game, has two good feet and is technically good for one so young.”

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Dons’ initial bid – reported to be above the £100k mark – fell well short of Hamilton’s valuation of their academy product, however.

The two clubs have since been locked in talks in a bid to find a middle ground, but no agreement has yet been made and the matter is set to be dealt with via SPFL arbitration.

Should a compensation tribunal be required, the figure Aberdeen are made to pay for Ferguson will be based upon case studies of players deemed to be operating at the same level as these help ascertain market value.

The criteria on which this would be assessed includes the players’ age, the length of time the player spent at the club whom he is departing, terms offered by each club, the players’ playing record for club and country and notice of any substantiated interest from other potential suitors.

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Ferguson joined Accies’ academy set-up aged 14, before graduating to the first team this season where he made 14 appearances for Martin Canning’s Premiership side.

Premier League outfit Crystal Palace are amongst the clubs understood to have shown interest in the Scotland youth international’s signature before Aberdeen pounced.

Two notable examples which may be used as markers of Ferguson’s value come from Rangers.

The Ibrox club took Dundee United to a tribunal hearing in 2014 after their academy product Charlie Telfer moved to Tannadice under freedom of contract.

United eventually were made to pay £204k – more than double their original offer – despite Telfer only having one first-team appearance to his name.

Furthermore, the £1m fee Brentford paid Rangers for Lewis Macleod – who at the time of his move was starring for the Light Blues in the second tier – in 2014 could also be brought up.

Any tribunal decision over the appropriate fee for Ferguson would be made by a three-man panel, with neither party enjoying the right to appeal against the outcome and the figure derived required to be paid within 28 days.