FITZROY FOR HEARTS?

Simpson, 29, was told earlier this month by Portsmouth that his contract with the club would not be renewed at the end of the season and Hearts moved in when Alan Ball said that he would be open to offers for the player.

The only possible stumbling block could be the two clubs agreeing a fee for him. Jeffries currently has a £4 million transfer kitty following Scottish Media Group`s £8 million investment in Hearts, and Pompey may realise this when discussing a fee, regardless of the contract situation.

"We are trying to do a deal at the moment." said Hearts manager Jim Jeffries. "We know that the player is out of contract at the end of the season. He is worth £300,000 to £400,000, but since he is near the end of his contract, we would not want to pay as much as that."

It is thought that the Jamaican international will be offered a three and a half year contract to join the club when he and his agent travel to Edinburgh to discuss personal terms.

"If we get an offer from a club we`ll put it to him and see how he wants to go about it," said Pompey manager Ball.