Top Italian clubs chasing Mauricio Pinilla

SAMPDORIA and Genoa are the latest Serie A clubs to express an interest in signing £4m-rated former Hearts striker Mauricio Pinilla, who has revived his career in Italy's second division.

The Chilean forward, whose Tynecastle career promised much but delivered little, has scored 20 goals so far this season in Serie B for Grosseto and has helped the Tuscan club challenge for promotion. They currently sit second in the table.

His fine form has attracted interest from some of Italian football's most prestigious clubs. City rivals Sampdoria and Genoa are keeping tabs on Pinilla along with Udinese, Palermo, Fiorentina and the striker's former club, Inter Milan.

"We have been following Pinilla for some time now," Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said. "He is a player that immensely interests us, and we believe we are at an advantage compared to the other clubs also interested in him."

Grosseto are the tenth club that 'Pinigol' has lined-up for in a career that has seen him feature for sides in Chile, Brazil, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Scotland.

The Chilean internationalist signed for Hearts in an initial year long loan deal from Sporting Lisbon on the eve of the 2006/07 season as the Tynecastle Club looked to add to the squad that finished the previous season in second place and won the Scottish Cup.

Pinilla scored on his league debut for Hearts in a 4-1 win over Inverness in August 2006. He scored again in a 3-1 away win at Aberdeen in October of that season but was also sent off and failed to find the net again in his Hearts career as his cameo appearances soon became few and far between.

On the eve of the 2008/09 season Pinilla was about to sign a contract extension but a disagreement over a wage cut Hearts wanted the striker to take saw the mutual cancellation of his contract.