Lawrence Shankland flies out to Spain as Hearts agreement reached

Lawrence Shankland is closing in on a sensational return to Hearts after contract talks took a positive turn.

The striker appeared to be on his way out of Tynecastle after head coach Derek McInnes, speaking on Tuesday, admitted that attempts to re-sign the 29-year-old free agent following the expiry of his contract had proved challenging.

However, Shankland was pictured at Glasgow Airport on Wednesday evening as he prepared to fly out to join up with the Hearts squad at their pre-season training camp in Spain after a breakthrough in negotiations led to an agreement being reached.

Lawrence Shankland is pictured at Glasgow Airport as talks with Hearts over a new contract continue. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The Scotland international had been linked with possible moves to the English Championship or Saudi Arabia but has turned down big-money offers from abroad in order to commit his future to the Gorgie club.

The apparent U-turn will delight the recently-appointed McInnes, who had refused to close the door on the possibility of retaining the Hearts captain despite the ongoing stalemate which predated his arrival from Kilmarnock in May.

Shankland scored 59 times in his first two seasons at Hearts but only managed nine last term in what proved a difficult campaign for the club. McInnes believes that under his stewardship, the striker can rediscover the prolific form that earned him an international call-up for Euro 2024 and saw him recognised as the PFA Scotland Player of the Year for 2023-24.

Speaking last month, McInnes said: "Hopefully, we can find a solution because he is a player that I think can really thrive with us at Hearts. He's shown in the time here how important he is and you try and not let players like that leave the door without putting up the best fight you can and we're in the fight for him.

"I believe we're a really strong option for Lawrence. I believe we're the best option for him at this moment. He's got the World Cup to try and get involved in at the end of next season. If he can go score 25, at least 25 goals next season and I think it's a safe bet he'd be going to the World Cup with Scotland, so hopefully there's loads of reasons why Lawrence could see this as a good option for him.”