Heart of Midlothian recorded a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock in the League Cup quarter-final during the week which sent them through to the last four of the competition for the first time since the 2019/20 season.
It has been a tough start to the 2023/24 campaign for Steven Naismith as an encouraging first few weeks were then followed by a run of four straight defeats up until the international break which rocked the confidence at the club, especially after they missed out on European group stage football.
Naismith dived into the transfer market to bolster his first-team squad during the summer, eventually signing seven players and while some have had an immediate impact, such as Frankie Kent, a few have failed to really hit the ground running thus far.
This has resulted in the manager putting his faith in players who were key to former boss Robbie Neilson, asking the likes of Kye Rowles, Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland to continue impressing and showing the new signings exactly what it takes in order to stand out for the club.
Shankland has been a wonderful signing for the Tynecastle outfit and is perhaps one of their finest pieces of transfer business conducted in the previous few seasons such was his impact last term.
This has led Hearts to place a big price tag on him in order to deter any potential suitors who may be willing to prise him away from the club.
How much did Hearts sign Lawrence Shankland for?
The striker played for a variety of different Scottish clubs during his formative years in his career, including Queens Park, Aberdeen, and St Mirren, but it wasn’t until he joined Ayr United in 2017 that he became the lethal machine everyone is witnessing now.
Indeed, over the next two seasons, he plundered 61 goals in just 73 matches for the club, chipping in with 24 assists too and this sealed a move to Dundee United in 2019. His goal-scoring exploits didn’t let up in Tayside either, scoring 40 in 74 games before Belgian side Beerschot V.A swooped in to sign him back in 2021.
It didn’t quite work out for the striker on the continent and Hearts shelled out £500k to bring him back to his homeland last summer as Neilson looked to get his career back on track.
Neilson managed Shankland during their time at United, and he lauded the player on his arrival, saying: “I’m really happy that we’ve been able to bring Lawrence to the club.
“He’s a player I know well from our time together at Dundee United. I know exactly what his qualities are and what he’ll bring to the team, and that’s why we really pushed hard to make him a Hearts player. I know he’ll get a great welcome and I’m looking forward to working with him again.”
He certainly went on to impress for the Gorgie side during the 2022/23 season and this attracted plenty of interest for his services.
How much is Lawrence Shankland valued at now?
During the summer transfer window, there appeared to be plenty of interest shown in the 28-year-old, despite playing just one season at Hearts.
Clubs from Saudi Arabia and England were keen on the hitman according to the Edinburgh Evening News (via the Scottish Sun), yet Hearts were having none of this reported interest.
Naismith ended up placing a £3-£4m valuation on his prized asset, and it certainly worked as he remains at the club, until January at least.
If using the top end of the valuation, it represents a staggering 700% increase from their initial £500k just 12 months prior, and it indicates that Hearts have hit the jackpot by signing Shankland.
Why is Lawrence Shankland worth this much?
The 6-foot marksman scored only five times in 28 appearances for Beerschot, yet Neilson managed to restore his confidence by making him an integral part of the side which featured in the group stages of the Europa Conference League.
Shankland ended up registering an impressive 32 goal contributions across all competitions last term – 28 goals and four assists – and although it couldn’t secure third spot in the table for the club, they would have been a lot worse off if it hadn’t been for his ruthlessness in front of goal.
Journalist Joel Sked rightfully praised him towards the end of 2022 following a wonderful first few months at the club, saying: “Lawrence Shankland has been different class for Hearts. So much more to his game than goals.
"His ability to drop in, act as that focal point and link player, his awareness and the way he creates space for himself. All so good and so vital.”
It is perhaps no surprise that the striker ranked first across the Hearts squad for overall Sofascore rating (7.11), goals and assists (28) and scoring frequency (a goal every 127 minutes) while also finishing top of the pile for shots on target per game (1.4), clearly demonstrating how effective he was in front of goal throughout the season.
Naismith has had to rely on him during the embryonic stages of 2023/24 too as the 28-year-old has scored five goals in 12 appearances, yet he may need to do more as the club are currently sitting in sixth place in the league table, eight points adrift of third spot.
It hasn’t been an easy ride so far for Naismith yet if he can secure some much-needed wins in the coming games, confidence will hopefully grow.
One of the best decisions the club made was signing Shankland and giving him a platform to succeed as he is currently one of the most natural finishers in the country at the moment.
More interest in the player will be inevitable across the coming months, especially if he maintains his current form and the most important thing is Hearts keep a hold of him until they have a suitable replacement lined up.
When he does depart, Shankland will rake in the Tynecastle side a major profit and this could in turn, allow the club to vastly improve their squad as they aim for success.
