Lawrence Shankland: Hearts offer captain new contract, confirms CEO
- Published
Speculation 'a positive' for Hearts' Shankland
Hearts have offered captain Lawrence Shankland a new contract, but the club have not received interest in the Scotland striker, chief executive Andrew McKinlay has confirmed.
Speculation has surrounded the forward, who has 18 months left on his deal.
Shankland, 28, has scored 46 goals in 75 games for Hearts since July 2022.
McKinlay says potential interest is "very understandable" given Shankland's form, but Hearts "are not encouraging" bids for their talisman.
"It's very obvious how important he's been, particularly this season," McKinlay added in an update to supporters.
"We have made an offer to Lawrence. He is already in the higher-paid bracket within the club, but we've made him an additional offer and that remains on the table for him to consider."
McKinlay dismissed the notion from some fans who feel the club should pay Shankland "whatever he wants" by saying he has to "protect [Hearts] for the future".
But, regardless of whether the Scotland international signs a new deal or not, McKinlay believes Shankland "will be a Hearts a player on 1 February".
Shankland missed training on Friday through illness but manager Steven Naismith hopes he will be ready for Saturday's Scottish Cup tie at Spartans - and has played down speculation about the striker's future.
"All the speculation in and around it has all been external," said Naismith.
"He needs to understand where he is in his career and what his motivations are and ultimately come to the decision he feels is best for him. It's nothing that needs to be rushed."
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