Hislop was brought to the North East by Kevin Keegan from Reading, but was allowed to move onto West Ham in 1998.
The arrival of David James from Liverpool saw Hislop drop down to second choice keeper at Upton Park and he is now set to team up with Harry Redknapp - now manager at Portsmouth - again on the South coast.
"Talks are still going ahead with Shaka and we're very hopeful something will be finalised soon," confirmed a spokesperson for the first division club.