Heart of Midlothian face competition from Boavista to land key summer target, Kazakhstan international Islam Chesnokov.
And the struggling Portuguese club are now managed by veteran Scottish boss Stuart Baxter.
Hearts have targeted the 25-year-old winger for months and failed in an attempt to land him in the January transfer window after being unable to agree a fee with his club, FC Tobol, who accused the Tynecastle side of putting in a derisory offer.
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The Scottish Cup losing semi-finalists have offered him a deal, with his contract expiring in October and hope to get him in the door in the summer.
But they face serious competition from Porto cub Boavista, who this week appointed 71-year-old Scot Baxter in a last gasp bid to save them from relegation.
Baxter, who was regularly linked with jobs in Scotland, including Hearts, Celtic and Aberdeen, has managed clubs in Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Japan, South Africa, Turkey and India and has been manager of both South Africa twice and Finland.
He has targeted Chesnokov and reports in Kazakhstan have suggested they have offered a bigger package than Hearts.
However, they sit second bottom of the league with four games left and are in serious danger of relegation unless Baxter can save them.
