ST MIRREN manager Danny Lennon has admitted he expects Kenny McLean's long-term future to lie elsewhere.

And that could bank the Paisley club a whopping transfer fee for the talented 22-year-old.

The midfielder is out of contract in the summer and Ipswich Town, Rangers and Aberdeen are all thought to be interested.

Should McLean, who has been with St Mirren since he was 14 years old, elect to join Mick McCarthy's Championship side at the end of the season, then that could net the Buddies around £370,000 in compensation.

If McLean instead chooses to move to another Scottish club then an SFA tribunal would set the fee for developing the player.

Lennon, who is also out of contact in the summer, praised McLean's performances of late including a starting role for the Scotland Under-21s in their friendly against Hungary last week.

And the Saints boss admitted the player, who has turned down the offer of a new contract, is someone who "deserves to play at a higher level".

Lennon said: "We'll struggle to keep hold of Kenny McLean. He's a player that we admire, someone we've nurtured, and it's great to have had a helping hand in what will be a promising career.

"Over the past six to eight months Kenny's really matured into a man. I've always asked questions about him about his consistency as he would boss one game and then not the next. Now he's starting to do that on a regular basis.

"I've been delighted with him and he deserves to play at a higher level as he has all the attributes to do so. We've worked hard to tie Kenny up as we do with all good players.

"We want him here but he's keeping his options open and I respect that.

"It doesn't surprise me some of the clubs that have been mentioned as being interested in him."

Lennon, meanwhile, also revealed that Gary Teale recently spent a week in hospital trying to shake off a bone infection.

The player has endured a torrid season after reacting badly to a pain-killing injection and was put on an intravenous drip to try get the virus out of his system.

The manager added: "Gary was on an IV drip in hospital for a week recently. Then he came back in, trained for a few days in the gym with the medical team, had the weekend off, then came back in (yesterday) and he's looked okay.

"Hopefully, touch wood, that's him now. He was fine when he took the oral medication the last time, it cleared it up, but after a week to 10 days once it had worn off the condition went back to how it was at the beginning.

"The next measure was the IV drip just to flush it right out of his system.

"He's lacking match sharpness but he's got experience. He gives us something on the right side that wee Gregg Wylde is giving us on the left.

"Gary will be a very crucial member of the squad for what will be a very challenging nine weeks for us."

St Mirren will also discover today the extent of a calf injury picked up by Eric Djemba-Djemba, as well as the latest on Stephane Bahoken's rehab in France.