Hearts interested in Hartley deal

Hartley has won two league titles in his time with Celtic

Hearts are interested in bringing Scotland midfielder Paul Hartley back to Tynecastle.

The 32-year-old has reached the end of a two-year deal at Celtic and Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov is keen on recruiting the international.

Hartley is also attracting attention from the continent but could yet sign a new contract with Celtic when they appoint a new manager.

Hartley joined Celtic from Hearts in January 2007 for £1.1m.

Hartley won a Scottish Cup winner's medal with Hearts in 2006, when the Edinburgh side beat Gretna on penalties in the final at Hampden

He also picked up two league titles, a League Cup and a Scottish Cup winner's medal with Celtic under manager Gordon Strachan.

In October 2006, Hartley was part of the so-called 'Riccarton Three', as he flanked then-captain Steven Pressley, along with goalkeeper Craig Gordon, as they held a press conference to express anger at "significant unrest" in the Tynecastle dressing room.

Pressley spoke on behalf of a number of players, stressing that team discipline and unity had become "an impossible task" to maintain under the leadership of Romanov.

Pressley was released and moved on to Celtic, while Gordon and Hartley had to attend internal disciplinary hearings and were dropped from the starting line-up on a number of occasions.

Rangers failed with several bids for Hartley before he agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Celtic Park, with the option for a further year.