Hearts set to make move for midfield ace Paul Hartley

Hartley is available for free from Bristol City and Fedotovas has spoken with the 33-year-old about a prospective Hearts return. Aberdeen also harbour a strong interest in the player but he has yet to receive a formal contract offer from either club. His preference would be a move to Edinburgh, where he spent four-and-a-half seasons between 2003 and 2007.

"We are finalising the approval process for signing Paul Hartley so I hope that we will be able to sign the player in the near future," said Fedotovas. "I think that, it the next day or two, this will be absolutely clear and we will be given the green light to go ahead with this signing, which I hope we will be able to make."

The potential re-appearance of Hartley in Gorgie will excite Hearts supporters who worshipped the midfielder before his 1.1 million transfer to Celtic in 2007.

"I understand that he is very popular with the fans, but we still need to wait a little bit to find out the possibilities," explained Fedotovas. "Generally, amongst the board there is support for this move so we need to formalise a few things and wait a few days for a final decision."

Asked if Hearts had made any offer to Hartley thus far, Fedotovas replied: "We have had discussions." Finnish international midfielder Kari Arkivuo arrived on trial at Riccarton yesterday after Kilmarnock refused Hearts' offer for Craig Bryson earlier this week. "The trial for the Finnish player does not mean we are no longer interested in Paul Hartley," insisted Fedotovas.

Arkivuo, 27, is an attacking midfielder with eight full caps for Finland who is currently out of contract at Go Ahead Eagles in Holland's second division.

Fedotovas revealed that negotiations are in progress for another Hearts signing target, although he was reluctant to reveal the player's identity. "We are actively negotiating another deal at the moment which I can't give you details of.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to get the player before the transfer window closes. We are looking at two positions, midfield and strikers. We will see how successful our negotiations are but we hope to be able to bring more players to the team."

Fedotovas also moved to reassure supporters that Slovakian goalkeeper Marian Kello will be signed in time for the new SPL season. Negotations between Hearts and FBK Kaunas have been protracted but club officials are confident Kello's registration will reach the SFA within a matter of days.

"The paperwork is in progress and I understand the final pieces of paper have been signed to clear the registration," explained Fedotovas. "There will not be any problem with Kello, all the documents are fine and I understand it is done and dusted already."

Meanwhile, Hearts' teenage goalkeeper Mark Ridgers joined Airdrie United on loan yesterday and defender David Armstrong has been released.