Lawrence Shankland’s mantelpiece is starting to sag after collecting yet another individual award. But there’s still plenty of space left in his wardrobe.
The Hearts hitman made it an incredible 30 goals for the season with his strike against St Mirren on Wednesday and then picked up another crown after being named the Scottish Football Writers Player of the Year. Shankland also landed the PFA Scotland gong in a champagne campaign for the Tynecastle star.
The 28-year-old has a couple of shiny trophies but he has another momento from a season to remember – superstar Virgil van Dijk’s Holland shirt. Shanks got hold of the Liverpool defender’s jersey after Scotland’s friendly defeat to the Dutch back in March. And the frontman is hoping to add to his collection by snapping up some big name shirt at the Euros this summer. Shankland said: "When I say swap, I'm not sure about them taking mine! I've taken a few anyway.
“I got Van Dijk's in the last game which was nice because I played against him (for Celtic) when I came on as a sub at Aberdeen. I probably never thought I'd get the chance to play against him again. That was a nice one to get.
“I knew if I didn't play I'd have to run on the pitch! I thought I did alright. I won't play against many better defenders than Van Dijk and Nathan Ake. It was a really good test for me and one I enjoyed.”
That night with Scotland was another special moment among plenty this term. And it whetted his appetite for Germany this summer as he revealed he’s already been spying on who he could be up against in the glamour opener against the hosts in a few weeks.
Shankland said: “When you look at the semi-finals of the Champions League you've got a lot of German defenders and some real big names
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