MORTON could be set to lose another key man as one of their Championship rivals consider a swoop for Aidan Nesbitt.

The Tele has learned that Dunfermline Athletic are mulling a move for the 23-year-old winger, who is in his second spell with Ton.

Nesbitt's Cappielow deal was recently extended until the end of this month under the UK Government coronavirus job retention furlough scheme, but he would then become a free agent.

It is understood that Nesbitt is a long-term target of Pars boss Stevie Crawford, who is said to have been monitoring him as far back as December.

Any exit of the former Celtic youngster would be a big blow following the departure last week of player of the year Nicky Cadden.

Cadden quit for English League 2 club Forest Green Rovers despite Ton pulling out all the stops to keep him in Greenock.

The club went public to say they had offered the player a two year deal with a 'healthy uplift' in wages but he chose to move south.

This followed the recent departure of top scorer Bob McHugh, who signed for Queen's Park.

Ton are hoping to secure a number of players on new deals and retaining Nesbitt would be a big boost, but they now face competition for his signature.

The former Celtic starlet signed for David Hopkin’s side last summer, appearing 29 times in all competitions.

He scored five times and registered eight assists.

He was hitting top form on the right hand side before the 2019/20 season was brought to an abrupt halt due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The 23-year-old impressed over the course of the season despite having his campaign disrupted by an injury which forced him to miss out on nearly two months of action.

The Ton are due to return to action at the beginning of October with the Betfred Cup Group stages pencilled in for then.

The Championship kick-off will follow on October 17, although games will initially be played beind closed doors due to the ongoing public health restrictions.