Hayes was offered a deal to stay at Glanford Park, but has widely been expected to turn it down in favour of a move elsewhere. Last week he went on record saying he had to put his family first.
Rumours on the Iron-Bru.net messageboard on Sunday afternoon claimed the striker had signed a three-year deal with the Lilywhites, a claim backed up by the Scunthorpe Telegraph later in the day.
The move would bring to an end his second spell at Glanford Park. His first spell ran from December 2002, when he joined on loan from Norwich City, until the end of the 2004-05 season.
He scored 35 goals in 116 appearances in that time, but left when his contract expired to sample Championship football with Barnsley.
After two seasons with the Tykes he returned to the Iron three summers ago. He has played 150 times in the second spell, scoring 41 times.