Gavin Whyte: Crusaders know I want to leave

Whyte capped a magnificent campaign by being named the Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year at the Northern Ireland Football Awards last night, and admitted he wants a move away from Seaview in the summer.

The 22-year-old said he wants to follow in the footsteps of former Irish League stars like Paul Smyth, who has enjoyed a superb debut season at Queens Park Rangers as well as scoring a dream goal on his Northern Ireland debut.

And yesterday, Glenavon's Bobby Burns made the switch to Scottish Premiership side Hearts on a three-year deal.

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"I'm not going to lie, there's a bit of interest," Whyte told the BBC. "Again, it's only interest. I've heard this over the last couple of years and I'll be able to tell you more when there's a certain thing on the table and I'm hoping there will be within the next couple of weeks.

"I have spoken to Stephen [Baxter] and Crusaders and they know that I want to go. They'll do whatever they can to get me across because they want me to do well.

"I'm hoping that over the next few week's it's going to be special."

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And the Crues star also made his international ambitions clear, revealing details of a chat with Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill at last night's bash in Belfast.

"He's the person I want to work under. I told him I want to play for the Northern Ireland team and I'll do my best to try and do that."