Kilmarnock's Jamie Hamill close to Hearts move

Hamill has been a mainstay of Killie's midfield in recent years

Hearts look set to win the race for the Kilmarnock midfielder Jamie Hamill.

The 24-year-old is out of contract at Rugby Park and had been linked with a move to Aberdeen and Hibernian as well as a number of clubs in England.

Hamill is expected to sign a three-year contract at Tynecastle if he passes a club medical.

The move would reunite Hamill with his former Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies, who gave him his first-team debut with the Ayrshire club.

That breakthrough came in 2007 and Hamill has since established himself as a regular in the team.

This season, Hamill was the club's penalty taker and scored 10 goals in total.