Lawrence Shankland drops major Hearts exit hint as Scotland striker hasn't found his 'level' yet

Lawrence Shankland has dropped the biggest hint yet he could be heading out of Hearts in the summer as he’s determined to test himself at the highest possible level.

The Jambos frontman – who scooped the PFA Scotland player of the year award on Sunday – is hot property as he enters the final year of his Tynecastle contract. Shankland offered the Gorgie faithful some hope by suggesting he could stick around for next season. But the Scotland man is also itching for the chance to see how far he can go in the game.

The 29-year-old – when asked about his immediate future – said: “I probably couldn’t tell you the answer to that to be honest. I am coming to a point in my contract with Hearts going into my last year where conversations will be had, there is no point in denying that. We will need to see what comes of those conversations. I have still got ambitions to get to a level.

“In football you always find your level. Then you get to a level and say, ‘Right, I wasn’t good enough there’. I don’t feel like I have got to that level that I am not good enough. It would be nice to kick on, see how far I can go in the game, try and play at a higher level than this.

“You want to push on. Can I get somewhere where I say, ‘Right, that wasn’t good enough’? I don’t feel I have experience that yet. You could finish your career and have regrets and say, ‘I wish I had tried that and seen if I could play there’. If you get the chance you try and go and do it. I don’t know where. There are loads of leagues all over Europe. I have been abroad before. I will see. I will go abroad again.

"We will see what it brings. But I would never be disrespectful to what I have got at Hearts. The club have been great for me since I have gone there and