Hearts have rejected a bid from Rangers for striker Kyle Lafferty, STV can reveal.
We understand the bid was £200,000, which falls substantially short of the Edinburgh club's valuation of the player, who is in the final year of his contract.
The Ibrox club are looking to bolster their attacking options and identified Lafferty as a target before making their approach on Thursday
Rangers chairman Dave King told STV earlier this week that he anticipated two more new signings and with Kean Bryan expected to join from Manchester City, it appears that Lafferty was intended to be the final piece of the jigsaw.
New Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was frustrated by his side's lack of cutting edge in the Europa League tie against FK Shkupi and the addition of Lafferty would give him more options up front.
Roma forward Umar Sadiq has joined on loan and is working towards match fitness, with Alfredo Morelos scoring against Osijek on Thursday to make his claim for a starting spot.
Lafferty played for Rangers between 2008 and 2012, enjoying the most successful spell of his career. Recruited from Burnley, he scored over 30 goals in the four-year spell and won three SPL titles and a Scottish Cup.
Following the financial collapse at Ibrox in 2012, he exercised his right to become a free agent and then signed for Swiss side Sion.
That was followed by a season at Palermo where he won promotion and a move to Norwich where he failed to hold down a first team place and was loaned to Caykur Rizespor and then Birmingham City.
Last summer, he was courted by both Hibs and Hearts before signing with the Tynecastle club on a two-year deal.
The 30-year-old scored 12 goals in 35 games last season.
