Caley Thistle defender Jamie McCart will join St Johnstone in the summer after finalising a pre-contract with the Premiership club.
McCart, who is out of contract at Caledonian Stadium in the summer, has been able to hold talks with other clubs since the turn of the year, with Championship rivals Partick Thistle having also been interested.
The 22-year-old has agreed to join the Perth club, although Saints manager Tommy Wright is believed to be keen to strike a deal to bring McCart in this month. Wright is also pursuing Caley Jags right back Shaun Rooney, with Dundee also interested.
Inverness manager John Robertson has already insisted Saints will have to stump up the cash in order for the Highlanders to entertain a deal for McCart, having already lost fellow defender Coll Donaldson to Ross County earlier this month.
Robertson losing players to top-flight clubs is an inevitable consequence of being in the Championship, and he said: “It’s not something we want to accept, but it’s something we’ve got used to over the years.
“We bring in good players, and we try and keep them as long as we can.
“When we were in the Premiership it was a lot easier to keep them, because we were playing against top teams in the highest tier.
“Once you drop into the Championship, any good players you’ve got will be snaffled up by teams in the Premiership. That’s what happens.
“That’s one of the reasons we want to get out of it if we can.”
Inverness, who are second in the Championship, have the chance to open up a seven-point lead over Ayr United with a victory over the Honest Men at Somerset Park today.
Robertson, who has defender Lewis Toshney available for the first time after he was cup-tied for last weekend’s Scottish Cup trip to Alloa Athletic, is wary of an Ayr side fresh from knocking Premiership side County out of the competition.
“We had a good win against them in December, we played very well, but they have picked up again.
“I think Mark Kerr is starting to settle down, they had a very good result last week beating County in the cup.
“They will be delighted with knocking out a Premiership team in the cup. That shows you the dangers they possess.
“They are not where they are in the league for no reason. They’ve got talented players up front, a very good midfield and solid defence.
“We’ve got to go down there and do what we have done at Dens Park and Alloa. We want to be busy and proactive with the ball, and when we lose it make sure we are nice and solid.”
