Hearts kick off against St. Johnstone at the weekend however some paperwork has to be finalized before Elliot can officially become a Jambo.
Jefferies said: “We’re close to Stephen Elliott.
“That’s a big help because if he can get the paperwork tidied up at Preston we can then sit down and try and work out the situation.
“We’re very close to getting him but it will take until next week although I’d hope to get him into the team for next week.
“Everything is done with Preston on our side but on his side things need to be sorted out. You need to go through the usual procedures.”
