The ball was fired across the turf towards the fledgling midfielder with an almighty lick. How was his touch? Velvet, as it happens. Next?

Nothing which followed that morning at Riccarton drew anything more than approving looks from the seasoned professionals who were running the rule over the precocious talent in their midst.

Those present recall there wasn’t a trace of fear in Keir McMeekin’s body when in possession. There was a grace in the way he moved, a natural-born footballer.

In a small-sided game, he dropped his shoulder and deceived his direct opponent. Not only could he see the passes others couldn’t, but he also executed them.

By the end of the session, he’d made a mark on those team-mates who hadn’t set eyes on him before. Not too shabby for a 15-year-old.

Hearts’ estimation of McMeekin’s talent saw him involved in subsequent closed-door first-team matches against Falkirk, Ayr United, Dundee and Ross County at the start of this season. Again, he caught the eye.

‘He certainly didn’t look out of place,’ one opposing manager told Mail Sport.

‘If I hadn’t known he was 15, I’d never have guessed it. He was technically sound and comfortable on the ball.

‘He recognised the patterns of the game and made the right decisions within it. He was really impressive.’

McMeekin’s story to this point feels like a throwback to the days when there appeared no end to the conveyer-belt of Scottish talent which was self-taught under our streetlights and in our parks.

Hailing from the town of Pattiesmuir in Fife, it seemed like he had a ball welded to his foot before coming under the wing of local club Duloch Juniors at seven years old.

‘When he kicked his first ball at the age of five, I was told he was a natural,’ his father Scott recalled. ‘He has never looked back since.’

Long before dazzling Hearts’ first-team with his close control, young McMeekin was commanding headlines for other reasons.

During lockdown, there was a charming story in the local paper which spoke to both his impressive character and his ability to manipulate a football.

Inspired by the feats of Captain Tom Moore, the player, then aged 10, juggled a ball for a mile a day for 26 days along the streets of his town. He raised over £1,800 for NHS charities in the process.

He further honed his skills playing futsal, the indoor five-a-side game which many players including former Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic claim to have played a huge role in their development.

After he made his Scotland under 15 debut, Futsal Escocia, the company which runs classes in Dunfermline, posted a message on social media recalling the time when McMeekin had ‘a little tantrum when his dad was asked about moving him up into a group two years older, but he gave it a shot.’

The experiment didn’t seem to go too badly. He scored four goals and came out that evening ‘absolutely buzzing’.

His one-time futsal coaches were also ‘sure he will continue to develop and progress up the levels to full-time football and further international selection.’

You don’t doubt this. The unfortunate thing, from Hearts’ perspective, is that it doesn’t look like that next stage is going to be taken with them.

Despite having not yet been in a single match-day squad, McMeekin has had sniffs from a whole host of English Premier League sides this season, but the interest from the two Manchester giants has been the most intense.

United tried their darnedest. McMeekin and his family were given the full Carrington-Old Trafford-Fergie treatment. Still they couldn’t convince him.

It will hurt them no end, then, that the player has apparently now opted to commit his future to Manchester City.

Yet, United’s dismay will be nothing compared to that of his parent club.

To be clear, no one could possibly blame any teenager for grabbing the opportunity that’s in front of him. Frankly, most in their position would.

But when a club have been invested so much in a player and can lose him for a modest six-figure compensation fee, they’re inclined to ask if it’s all been worth it.

There’s surely a fundamental fault with any system which can see a talent such as McMeekin’s move for a song when he’s made no appreciable impact.

Under the current laws, Scottish players must turn 16 before they can sign professional terms.

Moves by clubs to reduce this to 14 have so far failed to get off the ground, meaning the cream of the crop are being routinely lured across the border, often moving south on scholarships prior to putting pen to paper on their 16th birthday.

Brexit has only heightened the issue. With English Premiership and Championship clubs now facing more difficulties in recruiting footballers aged under 18 from outwith the United Kingdom, taking punts on emerging Scottish players is seen as one solution.

The Tynecastle club’s own list of departures for paltry compensation money includes Marc Leonard (Brighton) Ewan Simpson (Aston Villa) and John Dodds (Everton).

They are not alone in this. Kilmarnock lost Liam Smith, a forward, to Manchester City. Lewis Pirie moved from Aberdeen to Leeds. Ben Gannon-Doak left Celtic for Liverpool.

Now with Bournemouth after completing a Scottish record £25m summer move, the career path of the jet-heeled winger is certainly a good advert for reaching for the stars.

But Gannon-Doak is truly a generational talent. Many others in his shoes who’ve broken for the border have eventually become lost, forgotten and have lived to regret being in too big a hurry.

Simpson, to name but one, recently returned on loan to Hamilton Accies without playing a first team game at Villa Park.

Might he have better following the lead of the likes of James Wilson by staying put at Hearts, being regularly exposed to first-team football then moving on when the time is right? You would have to say so.

It’s to be sincerely hoped that McMeekin’s story doesn’t tail off in the same way. As a growing number of young Scottish players are discovering, ability is nothing without opportunity.