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Leader Live
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Lawrence Shankland was not ready to bring Hearts career to an end
The 29-year-old Scotland forward – who has scored 68 goals since arriving from Belgian side Beerschot in 2022 – looked to be on his way out of Tynecastle after several rounds of negotiations over the past 18 months failed to result in a contract extension. After becoming a free agent this summer and exploring his options, however, Shankland has been persuaded by recently-installed manager Derek McInnes to accept an offer to become the club's highest-paid player. The Jambos announced on Thursday afternoon that he has agreed a deal until 2028, bringing to an end a long-running contract saga. 'After speaking to the family and where they want to be, especially my four-year-old diva, who's in love with Jock the Jambo, it was back here." Lawrence Shankland speaks to Hearts TV 💬 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 'I had a couple of weeks at the end of the season on holiday and to get married, and then after that, I gave it a month to think about things and weigh up options,' Shankland said in an official club interview at their training base in Spain. 'I had a couple that popped up, but the family side of things just wasn't right for me. And in the meantime, I'd been speaking to the manager about coming back here. I'd always left the door open. I couldn't seem to close the door behind me, and I think that gave me an indication of where my head might be at. 'After speaking to the family and where they want to be, especially my four-year-old Eva, who's in love with Jock the Jambo (Hearts' mascot), it was back here. I'm happy with my decision and the family are happy as well.' In his first campaign at the club Shankland became 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, 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. After being appointed in mid-May, McInnes made it a priority to retain Shankland and the forward was grateful to his new manager for allowing him time to make up his mind. 'As long as I was honest in my situation, I think both sides were happy to kind of see how things went,' said Shankland. 'I was always keen to keep that door open for myself, and it was important for me that the manager was happy to do that for me as well. When he came in the door, my contract was coming to an end and he understood where I was at as well, so that was important. And the honesty between us kind of worked out in the end.' The retention of their most prolific forward of the 21st century represents a significant coup for Hearts at a time when they are embarking on an exciting new era in partnership with Jamestown Analytics and with Brighton owner Tony Bloom on board as a minority investor. 'Lawrence is a really popular boy, but he's still got so much to do here,' said McInnes. '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. Having Lawrence in the building gives us a better chance of achieving all that.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
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. Wonder what the boys had for breakfast this morning? 🤔 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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. He's back. Lawrence Shankland has agreed a three-year contract with Heart of Midlothian 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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.'
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
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. Wonder what the boys had for breakfast this morning? 🤔 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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. He's back. Lawrence Shankland has agreed a three-year contract with Heart of Midlothian 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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.'
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Lawrence Shankland was not ready to bring Hearts career to an end
The 29-year-old Scotland forward – who has scored 68 goals since arriving from Belgian side Beerschot in 2022 – looked to be on his way out of Tynecastle after several rounds of negotiations over the past 18 months failed to result in a contract extension. After becoming a free agent this summer and exploring his options, however, Shankland has been persuaded by recently-installed manager Derek McInnes to accept an offer to become the club's highest-paid player. The Jambos announced on Thursday afternoon that he has agreed a deal until 2028, bringing to an end a long-running contract saga. 'After speaking to the family and where they want to be, especially my four-year-old diva, who's in love with Jock the Jambo, it was back here." Lawrence Shankland speaks to Hearts TV 💬 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 'I had a couple of weeks at the end of the season on holiday and to get married, and then after that, I gave it a month to think about things and weigh up options,' Shankland said in an official club interview at their training base in Spain. 'I had a couple that popped up, but the family side of things just wasn't right for me. And in the meantime, I'd been speaking to the manager about coming back here. I'd always left the door open. I couldn't seem to close the door behind me, and I think that gave me an indication of where my head might be at. 'After speaking to the family and where they want to be, especially my four-year-old Eva, who's in love with Jock the Jambo (Hearts' mascot), it was back here. I'm happy with my decision and the family are happy as well.' In his first campaign at the club Shankland became 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. Lawrence Shankland has scored 68 goals for Hearts (Andrew Milligan/PA) The former Ayr and Dundee United forward's most recent campaign was more of a struggle in front of goal, 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. After being appointed in mid-May, McInnes made it a priority to retain Shankland and the forward was grateful to his new manager for allowing him time to make up his mind. 'As long as I was honest in my situation, I think both sides were happy to kind of see how things went,' said Shankland. Derek McInnes worked hard to keep Shankland (Andrew Milligan/PA) 'I was always keen to keep that door open for myself, and it was important for me that the manager was happy to do that for me as well. When he came in the door, my contract was coming to an end and he understood where I was at as well, so that was important. And the honesty between us kind of worked out in the end.' The retention of their most prolific forward of the 21st century represents a significant coup for Hearts at a time when they are embarking on an exciting new era in partnership with Jamestown Analytics and with Brighton owner Tony Bloom on board as a minority investor. 'Lawrence is a really popular boy, but he's still got so much to do here,' said McInnes. '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. Having Lawrence in the building gives us a better chance of achieving all that.'
Rhyl Journal
a day ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
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. Wonder what the boys had for breakfast this morning? 🤔 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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. He's back. Lawrence Shankland has agreed a three-year contract with Heart of Midlothian 🤝 @loveholidays // #loveholidays — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) July 3, 2025 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.'
