Hartson, 32, has scored goals wherever he has been, from Luton, Coventry and Wimbledon to Celtic, Arsenal and West Ham. He has fallen down the pecking order under Tony Mowbray at the Hawthorns and was linked with a switch to Carrow Road last term.
The former Wales international would not come cheap, but goals are badly needed for a side who have failed to find the net in over nine hours of football, a spell which has seen Peter Grant lose his job.
City are very short at the back, with Gary Doherty and Dion Dublin both injured, but Grant's attempts to bring in reinforcements, notably in Wigan's Fitz Hall and Middlesbrough's Andrew Davies, have so far come to nothing. It is likely that much of the budget will be saved for the new manager to spend when he comes in.