St Johnstone have tied up two of their emerging young players on long-term deals.
Highly-rated striker Chris Kane and wide midfielder Dylan Easton have both impressed manager Tommy Wright in the under-20s, with Kane scoring a hat-trick against Dundee United in midweek.
Easton has also caught the eye after being snapped up from Berwick Rangers. Both teenagers have signed contracts for two and a half years.
Wright has revealed that he plans to secure other youngsters on similar deals, and is also hopeful that there will soon be news to report on first team players pledging their future to Saints.
He said: “We have to secure our best young players and that is what we have started to do. We have also begun working on deals for first team players. That will be rolling out over the next few weeks.
“Dylan and Kano have done extremely well in the under-20s and are players I believe have a good long term future at the club. They have been training with the first team in recent months.
“They would both benefit from spells on loan but the numbers game can be an issue because we have a smaller under-20 squad.
“Ideally we will look again at getting them out, like we did with Stevie May.”
“Right now with Steven MacLean and Rory Fallon out we feel Kano is someone capable of coming off the bench and making an impact for us.
“Dylan has great balance, good feet and he is a gifted footballer. He knows the aspects we need him to work on. It’s a big plus that we have committed to them and they have committed to us for the next two years.”
Wright praised youth development head Alastair Stevenson for attracting quality young players to McDiarmid Park.
He noted: “We are trying to improve that aspect and secure more home grown talent like May and Liam Caddis.
“I would like four or five younger players in my first team squad next year because we have to keep an eye on the budgets. That’s one way of reducing costs if they are good enough. Every club realises that is the way forward.
“Everyone talks about Dundee United this season and they have a good crop breaking through. They are at the top end of the scale. But we have some good youngsters and we are moving in the right direction.”
Wright confirmed contract discussions have begun with several first team players.
He reported: “Talks are ongoing. We are working hard on this at all levels. We will move on to speaking to others soon.
“We are slowly working through the squad and some have between now and the end of the season to make their case for another contract.”