Hearts transfer news: Lawrence Shankland, right-back, contract situation - what could happen in January window

The future of talismanic striker will dominate but Jambos need one big reinforcement

One man is going to dominate the month of January at Hearts and his name is Lawrence Shankland. The 28-year-old forward has scored 17 goals for the Jambos this season across all competitions and such is his form, he is attracting interest from a multitude of clubs.

Rangers have been heavily linked with the Scotland internationalist, who currently has 18 months left on his deal at Tynecastle. The Ibrox outfit are in the market for a new forward but the Jambos’ asking price, believed to be well north of £3million, could put them off given their own resources and signing policy. There are teams in the English Championship whose interest in Shankland is piquing, but once again, they will need to pay top dollar for him.

Hearts currently sit third in the Premiership and with potential revenue from finishing there come the end of the season potentially more than £5m, the Tynecastle hierarchy need to weigh up carefully the cost to them of a potential sale. Shankland has become a talismanic figure at Hearts and is their main source of goals. The player himself is content at Gorgie and knows he required regular football in a successful team to nail down his place in Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad.

Lawrence Shankland's goalscoring exploits at Hearts have caught the eye of many clubs.

The Shankland saga could go right to the end of the month – the window closes on February 1 – but regardless of what happens there, Hearts are set to reinforce in one area. They are very short at right-back, with Odel Offiah now back at Brighton after some health scares and now Nathaniel Atkinson, the regular in that position, away with Australia at the Asian Cup. He and Kye Rowles could miss up to seven matches depending on the Socceroos’ progress. Manager Steven Naismith has already spoken of his desire to add a right-back to his squad.

Other than that, don’t anticipate January to be a busy one for Hearts. “I wouldn't expect us to be doing loads,” Naismith said recently. “I think the clear area that we need to improve is right-back. We've really struggled in that area so that is the obvious one. Other than that, we'll look around for if there are areas that we can improve the squad. But I said when I first came in, gone are the days that you should be changing five, six, seven, eight, nine players a season. You want to try and recruit payers that maybe you don't need right away that you can then give time to settle in. I think we have suffered from that as well at points with some of our signings that have had to come in and it has been a big ask for them. Recruitment is one of the most important parts of every club. I think in Scotland in terms of where the market is it is so important for investment and to get a return on your investment and it to be the difference in games.”

Hearts will no doubt use this month to try and tie down some of the players whose contracts expire in the summer. Goalkeeper Lawrence Shankland, defender Craig Halkett and midfielder Beni Baningime have all been offered new deals. Some fringe players could depart on loan, with Andy Halliday and Peter Haring struggling to get regular game-time under Naismith.

January signing priority: A right-back.

Please don’t make a bid: Lawrence Shankland, unless it’s ridiculous money, and even then ...

Players out of contract in the summer: Craig Gordon, Michael McGovern, Craig Halkett, Peter Haring, Andy Halliday, Beni Baningime, Alan Forrest, Alex Lowry (end of loan), Kenneth Vargas (end of loan).