Ayr United in pole position to land promising Celtic kid Kyle Ure
Ayr United have moved into pole position to land highly rated Celtic kid Kyle Ure.
The midfielder, 19, is set to follow Parkhead teammate Jude Bonnar in completing a loan move to Somerset Park.
Ure, the Celtic 'B' captain, had also been wanted by Championship rivals Partick Thistle.
But Ayr, who are negotiating an official cooperation agreement with the Hoops, look to have beaten them to the punch.
Shaun Maloney, the new Player Pathway chief at Celtic, has been at Somerset for Ayr's last two games to watch Bonnar make his bow.
And he's been impressed with the setup at United under Celts legend Scott Brown.
Ambitious Ayr have made a pitch for Ure, who is highly regarded by Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, to develop in the heart of their midfield.
He has skippered Stephen McManus' development side in the Lowland League during the past 18 months and been part of Celtic's first team squad during their recent pre-season campaign.
Fellow youngster Bonnar has made a flying start to his Somerset stay and, speaking last week, told of his desire to prove himself playing regular football.
He said: "Celtic have told me that I need professional games under my belt as I've not had that to this stage of my career.
"I'm dying to see what the challenge is like here - I'm at that age now where I need to be exposed to this level of football.
"The team plays in an attacking style, so it's going to benefit me."
Ayr have kicked off their League Cup section with three wins from three, hitting 13 goals in the process. They head to St Mirren on Sunday, in a game televised live on Premier Sports.
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