Christophe Berra has been offered the chance to return to England with Salford City.
The frozen-out Hearts skipper has opened talks with the League Two new boys.
Salford boss Graham Alexander is keen to sign another central defender and has made a move to land his former Scotland team mate.
Scottish Championship sides Dundee and Queen of the South are also keen but neither have the financial muscle of Salford.
The Ammies are bankrolled by Manchester United’s clash of '92, including David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
Berra has previously had successful spells in England with Wolves and Ipswich Town.
The 34-year-old still has 18 months left on his Tynecastle contract and it depends whether he leaves on a permanent or a loan.
He was bombed out by new boss Daniel Stendel and since then has been training with the reserves.
Salford already have ex-Scotland star Craig Conway in their ranks and their skipper is former Aberdeen star Adam Rooney.
Rooney controversially moved to the club when they were still in the National League.
