Hamilton say they won't stand in Hendrie's way if acceptable offer is made

Hendrie said his dream is to play at

As a boyhood Celtic fan and a huge admirer of the English Premier League, Stephen Hendrie could soon face a dilemma if interest in the left-back solidifies into concrete bids.

As Sportmail revealed recently, Hamilton chairman Les Gray is bracing himself for a £2million offer from West Ham for the latest gem off the New Douglas Park production line.

And on Sunday, Celtic joined the long list of clubs watching the gifted teenager when Ronny Deila’s assistant John Collins scouted Hendrie during Accies’ 1-0 win at St Johnstone.

Stephen Hendrie has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs as well as Celtic

If the 19-year old would find it difficult choosing between potential suitors in the east end of London and Glasgow, however, he is more clear-cut on other issues.

He has no doubt in his mind that he is old enough to make the next big step in his career, provided the right bid is received by the New Douglas Park club.

‘I’m 20 next week,’ said Hendrie, who has helped Hamilton into third in the Scottish Premiership but is out of contract at the end of the season.

‘I don’t think that’s too young or too old to move from Hamilton.

‘I’m a Celtic fan and obviously the (English) Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world.

Hendrie has made more than 100 appearances for the Hamilton first team

‘That’s my dream - you want to reach as high a level as you can and if I can get to the Premier League that would be brilliant.

‘But the Accies would need to see if it’s the right offer. If it is, they say they’ll never stand in anybody’s way. They are a great club like that. If they accepted it, there is not much I could do.

‘It’s good massive clubs are getting mentioned. But I just want to get my head down and keep doing well.

‘Just now, the Accies are flying and I’m loving every minute of it. We just want to finish as high as we can.’

With over 100 first-team appearances for Accies before the age of 20, Hendrie is following a similar path tread by James McArthur and James McCarthy. Both gained experience at Accies before finding fame and fortune down south as FA Cup winners with Wigan before moving to Crystal Palace and Everton, respectively.

The 19-year-old believes he is ready to make a move to a bigger club

Accies manager Alex Neil has long stated nothing would please him more than to see the next generation of gems in Lanarkshire win a life-changing big-money move.

But he has warned Hendrie and Scottish Premiership leading scorer Tony Andreu that if they get distracted by transfer speculation this month they risk their starting places.

‘The boys all know that, if they continue to do well here, if something does crop up, we won’t stand in their way,’ said Neil.

‘But if they take their eye off the ball and think they will get their move without anything happening then they could find themselves out the team and that move will quickly disappear.

‘But they are all completely focused. Not one of them has mentioned a single thing about transfers.

Hamilton manager Alex Neil says the club won't stand in Hendrie's way if the right offer came in

‘We’ve had no contact at all so far for any of our players.

‘It’s still early days in January but most clubs, unless they are prepared to pay top dollar, will wait and try and get their targets on the cheap.

‘We don’t want to sell anyone but at the same time we are a selling club. And this club is good at making sure it gets the maximum for anybody moving on.

‘If we receive a deal which is right for the player and the club, we won’t stand in their way. But no one will be leaving here on the cheap.’

Should Accies swell their coffers this month, their tried-and-trusted youth development-focused business model will remain.

But the Hamilton boss said that the club have not received any contact regarding any of their players

While being third in the league is a source of pride for Neil, so too is the Accies Under-20s being three clear of Aberdeen at the top of the SPFL Development League.

‘Any money which comes will go back into the youth academy,’ continued the manager.

‘I might potentially get some money to sign somebody but it will be a free transfer. We won’t spend any money buying someone.

‘We are very well run, and when someone else goes, we will generally replace them with one of our younger players.