John Hughes, the manager of Hibernian, has identified his former Falkirk captain, Darren Barr, as a possible replacement for Rob Jones, who has joined Scunthorpe United.

John Hughes, the manager of Hibernian, has identified his former Falkirk captain, Darren Barr, as a possible replacement for Rob Jones, who has joined Scunthorpe United.

Hearts were also linked with a move for the player earlier this week, but have now dropped their interest after signing the Algerian international defender, Ismael Bouzid.

The sale of Jones could earn Hibs, including future add-ons, up to £250,000, the same fee Falkirk are thought to want for Barr. However, it remains to be seen if the Easter Road board would sanction a bid of that amount for a player who is out of contract next summer, knowing they could potentially sign the 24-year-old on a pre-contract in January if he remains with last season's Scottish Cup finalists.

Hughes has already been reunited with two former Falkirk players after the arrivals of Patrick Cregg and Kevin McBride at Easter Road.

"I've got a great working relationship with Darren Barr, he's a true professional and a guy most managers would want at their club," said Hughes. "He worked very hard as a kid to come through the ranks at Falkirk, didn't turn his nose up when he went on loan to Forfar, and came back even stronger.

"We maybe gave him the captain's armband too early because we saw a little bit of Russell Anderson in him and wanted to give him that responsibility but I think he felt it a wee bit last year by taking a lot on his shoulders. However, he really came strong towards the end of the season and deserves everything he's getting in terms of the Scotland recognition."

Jones, 29, who had a year remaining on his contract at Hibs, has signed a three-year deal with Scunthorpe in a record move for the English Championship newcomers. Jones had made it clear for some time that he wanted to return to his native England to be closer to family.

Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts manager, said yesterday he was looking for two strikers to complete his summer signings after picking up Bouzid. Capped 10 times by Algeria, Bouzid's previous clubs include Galatasaray, where he won a league title, Troyes of France, and Kaiserslautern.