Lawrence Shankland admitted he couldn’t bring himself to end his Hearts career after the talismanic captain re-signed with the Edinburgh club for the next three years.

The 29-year-old Scotland forward, who has 68 goals since joining from Belgian side Beerschot in 2022, appeared to be on his way out of Tynecastle after many rounds of contract negotiations over the last 18 months failed to result in an extension.

After becoming a free agent this summer and considering his options, Shankland was convinced by newly appointed 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 to a contract extension until 2028, bringing an end to a lengthy contract controversy. “I took a couple of weeks off at the end of the season to go on vacation and get married, and then I gave myself a month to think about things and weigh my options,” Shankland said in an official club interview at their training facility in Spain.

“I had a couple of opportunities, but the family aspect wasn’t for me. In the interim, I’d been talking to the management about returning here.

I had always left the door open. I couldn’t manage to close the door behind me, which I believe gave me an idea of where my head may be. “After discussing with the family about where they wanted to go, especially my four-year-old Eva, who adores Jock the Jambo (the Hearts’ mascot), we decided to return here.

I’m delighted with my decision, and so is my family.” Shankland became the first Hearts player in 31 years to score more than 20 goals in a season in his debut season, and he went on to score 31 goals in 2023-24, earning every Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award and a spot in Scotland’s Euro 2024 team.

The former Ayr and Dundee United forward’s most recent campaign was more difficult in front of goal, but he did score five times in his final five games, leaving fans hopeful that he may decide to stay at Tynecastle.

After being appointed in mid-May, McInnes made it a priority to keep Shankland, and the forward expressed gratitude to his new manager for giving 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,” according to Shankland.

“I was always eager to keep that door open for myself, and it was vital to me that the manager was also willing to do so.

When he walked in, my contract was about to expire, and he was also aware of where I was, which was significant. And our mutual honesty eventually paid off.” The retention of their most prolific forward of the twenty-first century is a big coup for Hearts, who are starting on an exciting new era in conjunction 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,” McInnes told me. “We want to lift cutlery. We want to advance to the group stages in Europe, and we want to maintain consistency here. “Having Lawrence in the building gives us a better chance of accomplishing all of that.”

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