The 33-year-old is a free agent at the end of the season and the consortium behind the club is keen to land the midfielder for their inaugural campaign.

Reports out of Scotland say the Aussie outfit has sweetened the deal after Brown rejected an initial two-year offer with the option of a third.

Football Federation Australia has declined to kick-in for marquee wages but the club seems determined to get their man.

"We are pretty close with some players including a marquee," Western Melbourne backer Maurice Bisetto told the Daily Record.

"We are looking at a pre-season start in June, so things need to get moving.

p:nth-of-type(6)","type":"performPlaceholder","relativePos":"after"}" data-placeholder-placeholder="" data-response-start="6594.500000006519" data-type="placeholder" id="perform-placeholder">"We think Scott Brown has a lot of positives and could make a significant contribution to a new club...as a leader on and off the field.

"There's no doubt we could go for a bigger name, and that might get eyeballs and put bums on seats initially, but we are really focused on results and performance and the style of football we want to play."

The new A-League club is establishing a purpose-built home stadium at Tarneit, promising to provide a real football atmosphere with fans close to the action. 

Before the venue opens, they'll play their home games in Geelong at Kardinia Park