Lawrence Shankland, born on 10 August 1995, is a well-known forward in Scottish football, playing predominantly as a striker for Heart of Midlothian, often referred to as Hearts. Standing at the height of 6ft (1.85m) and weighing 12st 1lb (77kg), Shankland wears the number 9 jersey and has also made appearances for the Scotland national team.
According to Transfermarkt, his current market value sits somewhere around the £2.23m mark. His day of contract expiration with Hearts draws near, expected to be on the 31st May 2025, with only three months left of his tenure at the time of writing.
Shankland began his professional career at Queen's Park in Scotland's Championship back in July 2012. In his debut season, he made 33 first team appearances and established himself as a promising prospect with 10 goals to his name.
In July 2013, with a year's performance under his belt, Shankland transferred to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. His two spells at the club saw him make 34 appearances across different seasons. However, it wasn't as fruitful as his stint at Queen's Park, with opportunities limited and regular starts hard to come by.
Between his Aberdeen stints, Shankland was loaned to Dunfermline Athletic, making an impact with seven goals from 13 appearances, and then took a loan spell at St Mirren, where he managed 48 appearances and scored 10 goals. Towards the latter part of his Aberdeen contract, he was loaned to Greenock Morton, where he made 16 appearances and scored four goals.
Upon his return from loan, Shankland transferred to Ayr United in September 2017, and then moved on to Dundee United in July 2019. His stints at these clubs showed moments of brilliance, securing a total of 24 goals in 51 appearances.
A €1.3m (£1.1m) move abroad took Shankland to Belgium's Pro League with Beerschot where he played a season before moving back to Scotland in July 2022 with Hearts. A fruitful spell followed, with Shankland bagging an impressive 52 goals in 100 league matches across three seasons, as well as lasting impressions in cups and international fixtures too.
