Hibs make third bid for Luke McCowan with Celtic monitoring Dundee star

Hibernian have stepped up their bid to sign Dundee captain Luke McCowan, with the Easter Road club tabling a third offer for the midfielder.

STV understands that after seeing their first two attempts declined by the Dens Park side, Hibs have now made an offer in the region of £750,000 for McCowan.

Celtic have also been linked with a move for the creative player and are understood to be monitoring his situation.

McCowan played an important role last season as newly-promoted Dundee managed a top-six finish.

His ten goals and five assists caught the eye of other clubs and Bolton were heavily linked with a bid, as have clubs in MLS.

Hibs want the player to be part of their new look squad but their initial offers didn’t meet Dundee’s valuation.

Dundee have yet to respond to the current offer and it’s not known if that will be enough to tempt them to part with a leader in the squad, who has worn the captain’s armband in the absence of Joe Shaugnessy.

McCowan is in the last year of his contract and his club have held talks over an extension but when asked about it earlier this week, Dundee boss Docherty said there was “nothing to report”.

“It’s still ongoing,” he said. “The conversations we have with Luke, we have daily, but again, there’s nothing to report on just now.

“Every case is individual, and everyone’s unique. And this one’s just the same. It’s just very much, Luke’s our player until we hear anything different. Luke has to look after himself as well, but he’s a very important player for Dundee Football Club. While he’s still here, he’s still a captain, he’ll still remain a very important player.”