Hearts are interested in bringing Jordan Roberts back to Scotland.
The Tynecastle club have sounded out the former Inverness winger about a move to Gorgie.
The Jambos, however, face competition to land the 26-year-old.
Roberts spent the second half of last season at English League One side Gillingham on loan and their boss, Steve Evans, aims to sign him full-time.
Salford, Doncaster and Scunthorpe are also interested in free agent after he left Ipswich Town.
John Hughes took him to Caley Thistle for the 2015-16 season before he returned south with Crawley Town.
Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson is looking to add some width to his squad, with ex- Motherwell winger Elliott Frear joining his side for pre-season.
Neilson is also likely to offload several more players following Sean Clare's move to League One side Oxford United in a six-figure deal last week.
Northern Ireland striker Conor Washington has also agreed a two-year deal with League One Charlton and is waiting for both sides to agree a fee. There is also strong interest in left-back Aaron Hickey.
Bayern Munich and Italian side Bologna are interested in the 18-yearold, who would cost around £1.5million.
Neilson has already sounded out Scotland cap Stephen Kingsley, 26, as a replacement option but that looks extremely unlikely to happen.
The former Falkirk defender also has EPL interest but is likely to remain in England after his Hull City deal expired.
Hearts fans, meanwhile, will back the club in huge numbers in this term's Championship after snapping up more than 10,500 season tickets.
The Gorgie faithful have thrown their weight behind their favourites despite relegation being confirmed by the recent SFA-led arbitration panel.
