New A-League club Melbourne Heart are continuing their pursuit of former Australian international Josip Skoko.

The 34-year old is currently contracted to Croatian club Hajduk Split but it seems inevitable that he will soon return to Australia and the Heart are keen to bring him into the fray.

"It's sensitive, because we don't want to distract him from what he's doing," Heart football operations' boss John Didulica said.

"We've been about getting the best coach, then getting a group of high-quality professionals to play exciting, marquee football.

"The reason people have linked us with Josip is because which Aussie from Victoria fits those values?

"The challenge for us is to convince him. Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC have shown players over 30 can be a huge success in the league - (Kevin) Muscat and (Steve) Corica have been most influential at their club.

"He (Skoko) knows the game technically, tactically, and he's been a great player for a long time."