Lawrence Shankland sticks with Hearts

The 29-year-old Scotland forward – who has scored 68 goals since arriving from Belgian side Beerschot three years ago – looked to be on his way out of Tynecastle after several rounds of negotiations over the past 18 months failed to result in an agreement

However, after becoming a free agent this summer and exploring his options, Shankland has been persuaded by recently-installed manager Derek McInnes to accept an offer to become the club’s highest-paid player.

The striker flew out to Spain on Wednesday evening to meet up with the Hearts squad at their pre-season training base and the Jambos announced on Thursday afternoon that he has agreed a deal until 2028, bringing to an end a long-running contract saga.

“Lawrence’s not only been ingrained in the club the last few years, he’s been a big player for the club, knows his way about the Premiership, knows his way to goal,” McInnes told the Hearts website.

“It just made so much sense on so many levels for me. I’ve known Lawrence since he was a young boy and I know how important family is to him and how important being happy is.

“I always felt that that was a huge advantage for us. Not only does he enjoy his time at Hearts, those family connections are always very strong.”

Shankland marked his first campaign at the club by becoming the first Hearts player in 31 years to score more than 20 goals in a season and then netted 31 goals in 2023-24 to earn himself every Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award available and secure a place in the Scotland squad for Euro 2024.

The former Ayr and Dundee United forward’s most recent campaign was more of a struggle in front of goal and he incurred the wrath of some fans after a costly Conference League penalty miss away to Cercle Brugge in November, although he did notch five times in his final five appearances to leave supporters clinging to the hope that he might decide to remain at Tynecastle.

The retention of their most prolific forward of the 21st century represents a significant coup at a time when Hearts are embarking on an exciting new era in partnership with Jamestown Analytics and with Brighton owner Tony Bloom on board as a minority investor.

“I do feel that having that recognised number no.9, a goal scorer with a real pedigree, Scotland internationalist, the motivation for Lawrence to do well here at not only a club that he loves, a club that he’s happy with,” added McInnes.

“You see the way he’s embraced his team-mates this morning. He’s a really popular boy, but he’s got so much to do here. In my time at Hearts, I want to make sure it’s successful and I want Lawrence to feel exactly the same and he does.

“We want to be lifting silverware. We want to be going into group stages in Europe and we want to have a consistent thing going here and that is the driver for all of us. I do feel that having Lawrence in the building gives us a better chance of achieving all that.”