Lawrence Shankland’s fall from Hearts grace complicates transfer question after contract gamble

Lawrence Shankland’s fall from Hearts grace complicates transfer question after contract gamble

Lawrence Shankland could be forgiven for wondering how this happened.

The Hearts striker has become a public adversary at Tynecastle, having formerly been John Robertson’s heir

apparent. Last season, the prospect of fans singing “Shankland, Shankland, get tae f***” was simply absurd. On

Thursday night, Shankland was chastised by travelling fans in Brugge after missing a late penalty attempt in their 2-

0 Europa Conference League loss to Cercle.

It could have been the Belgian beer, and emotions were running high when the captain missed his penalty at 1-0.

With the way the Jambos’ season is going, it was only natural that the hosts went up the park and extended their lead

in stoppage time. Neil Critchley has suffered two consecutive European defeats, one win in six games, and four

consecutive losses. Despite improving efforts, results remain bad, and things must change immediately.

Shankland’s fall from favor has been a significant factor. 31 goals last season, 29 the year before. Only one this

season, a last-ditch equalizer against Ross County that bounced off his head in September.

It’s not like Hearts aren’t providing opportunities. They created enough to win in Belgium, and plenty in the first half

against Celtic at the weekend. They’re just catastrophically failing to take them, and while Shankland isn’t the only

one to blame, he is the one who is held to a higher standard.

Things are either directly at the goalkeeper or he is missing the target. A first-half flip that should have given Hearts

the lead on Thursday night went agonisingly wide. Kenneth Vargas, who has one eye on a move to a higher level but

appears to have no idea where his shots are going, fired straight at the keeper, as did Alan Forrest.

But Shankland’s awful penalty summed up his entire season. Fans demanded to know why he was even permitted to

step forward now that his confidence had been shattered. Critchley, as expected, undertook a public defence of his

No.9, with the hope that a successful conversion would have sent Shankland back on the goal trail. Instead, the fans

seem to have

Accusations of not trying or caring are exaggerated. He hasn’t just lost his professional pride; he’s in a slump that he

can’t overcome.

He has yet to be dropped this season, but this could be the time, with his starting spot against Aberdeen on Sunday

under significant threat. The options, or lack thereof, are another issue. Perhaps the most detrimental consequence

of Steven Naismith’s tenure is a lack of viable alternatives to step in.

Last season, Kyosuke Tagawa didn’t quite establish himself as Shankland’s backup, but he showed flashes of

potential. Moving him along made some sense. It seemed puzzling that Hearts decided not to include another

alternative right away.

James Wilson has scored a couple of goals off the bench, and a late equalizer at Easter Road will never hurt you as a

Hearts striker. However, allowing a teenager to lead the line in a failing team might be a recipe for disaster,

considering the pressure he will face as long as Hearts remain in 11th place.

Musa Drammeh has been eased into Scottish football. He has been prolific in bounce games, scoring a consolation

against Celtic on Sunday. But another perplexing

So between now and January, Hearts must hope Shankland snaps out of it. For his sake and the club’s.

The 29-year-old came into the last year of his contract fresh off the best season of his career. A lucrative contract

offer from Hearts was turned down to see what else would come his way.

The short answer is: nothing. The lack of interest (despite the repeated links to Rangers) was surprising, but Hearts’

determination to maintain their top scorer notwithstanding, believing that he might help them win another £5

million European group stage jackpot, was logical. As was the desire to see him given more of a chance at Euro 2024,

when Scotland needed a goal scorer.

The situation has changed tremendously. The Hearts contract offer has been withdrawn, and while they are still

willing to negotiate, another one is likely to be substantially lower than what Shankland could have received.

Someone might look past this season’s failures and try to do a low-cost January transaction. On recent form, Hearts

may even consider it. The most likely scenario is that Shankland will enter the summer as a free agent, but where he

ends up may now be determined by his ability to salvage his own form in the second half of the season.

It would be a sad finish for a player who appeared to be on his way to becoming a Hearts legend.

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