James McCarthy will be walking in Thierry Henry’s footsteps tonight at Tannadice and if the precocious Hamilton Academical midfield player continues his rapid progress, he may soon be wearing Barcelona’s celebrated colours, too.

After his move from Arsenal, Henry made his first appearance for the Spanish club at Dundee United’s ground and scored the winner in the friendly encounter last July during Barcelona’s training camp at St Andrews. Their taste for all things Scottish has extended well beyond the home of golf and the good food at the Old Course Hotel: McCarthy is now on the menu.

The teenager, coveted by Liverpool and Celtic, has been watched by Barcelona for the past year as he has become the outstanding young talent in Scotland. Helping Hamilton to pole position in the Scottish first division may not turn too many heads at the Nou Camp, but reaching a domestic cup final would. If the Lanarkshire club can defeat Dundee United tonight, a place in the last four awaits and McCarthy and his colleagues would be just 90 minutes away from a dream date at Hampden Park.

Billy Reid, the manager, dearly wants to hold on to McCarthy - discovered by Hamilton’s impressive youth system – and would like him to maintain his football education at New Douglas Park, if his side can win promotion to the Premier League.

However, Reid knows that the distraction of the CIS Cup is not just flattering, but further testimony to the job he is doing in transforming Hamilton’s fortunes. This is the club’s first quarter-final appearance since 1989 when they lost to Rangers – the side they famously knocked out of the Scottish Cup in 1987 in the third round. The last time they were in the semi-finals, in November 1979, they lost to Dundee United at East End Park.

Dundee United defeated Rangers 2-1 at Tannadice on Sunday but Reid still expects Craig Levein’s side to give Hamilton the sort of respect that is due for a team who knocked out Kilmarnock in the last round.

“You only have to look at our league table position to see that we are going well and I think Craig has already alluded to that,” Reid said yesterday. “United are flying high at the moment and they are also a form side, so I think it makes for a great game and one we should go and enjoy as best we can.

“It’s a long time since Hamilton reached the last four of a cup competition and we have a chance of reaching that stage, so we have to be happy.”

Hamilton have opened up a six-point gap over Dundee in the first division, with McCarthy’s winner against Morton on Saturday watched by more than 20 scouts from British and European clubs. Promotion to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League remains the top priority, but their progress to the latter stages of the CIS Cup has given Reid something else to motivate his players. “You do find it a struggle to keep the players focused and especially in our position, where we have a lot of young players in the squad,” Reid said. “That makes it harder, but if you look at all the top teams out there, they all deal with competing on more than one front, whether it be the Scottish Cup or in some cases Europe. So that is the gauntlet we’ve laid down for our players if they want to be part of a top team.”

Reid is determined to keep McCarthy at New Douglas Park for the duration of his contract, which runs until 2009, despite the interest from Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruña.

“James, at 16, is now starting realise his full potential with us,” the manager said. “However, although we are aware of the interest in him, he is under contract until 2009 and we want him here until then.

“Ideally I would love to see James playing for Hamilton in the Premier League next season, but that is a long way away and we are very keen to keep a hold of James until the end of this campaign at least. He is an important player for us.”

Dundee United would be unwise, though, to become too distracted by McCarthy. The most significant threat will be Richard Offiong, Hamilton’s leading scorer, who has rebuilt his career since leaving Newcastle United and moving to Scotland.

“There are a few young lads in there, but everybody’s grown up a year from last season and we’re trying to carry that on,” the striker said. “There’s a big belief in the camp that we can do well this season. To beat Hamilton, teams are going to have to fight, because we’re strong all over the park.”