But Owen Coyle admits he has plans closer to home for the 18-year-old for the time being.

The youngster, recently capped for the first time at Under 19 level with Scotland, is pushing for a place in the 16-man matchday squad at Turf Moor, and although Thistle are believed to be keen to borrow him, any move could only be made in January when the transfer window reopens.

Coyle said: "Alex has been away with Scotland Under 19s, he got injured after 10 minutes against Holland, but they are naming their squad this week for the European Championship qualifiers, and I would hope he is in that.

"He's a young kid we have high hopes for, he's training well with the first team, champing at the bit to get involved, and just missed out on being on the bench against Fulham.

"He needs to continue what he's doing, and if and when we decide he'll go out on loan, we'll see, but certainly he can't go to Scotland now anyway, because you can't go cross-border with loans, you can only do that in the transfer window.

"The only loans available are emergency loans."