Lawrence Shankland Hearts contract reality as Rangers transfer swirls spark Steven Naismith 'wild west' quip

Steven Naismith has compared football to the "wild west" as Hearts brace themselves for January interest in striker Lawrence Shankland.

The Jambos top scorer and stand-in captain has 18 months left on his contract after hitting 28 goals last term and is sitting on 18 for the current campaign so far - with speculation intensifying that he could make a move away from Gorgie with Rangers and English Championship clubs being tipped with a January swoop. However, the Tynecastle outfit are desperate to keep their top scorer as they look to seal third spot in the Scottish Premiership and guarantee European football next term.

The club have made the Scotland cap a contract offer that would make him the highest paid Hearts player for ten years - but Naismith concedes it may not be enough with Shankland at a sliding doors moment in his career. Speaking ahead of the Scottish Cup clash with Spartans, Naismith said: "For Lawrence in terms of our contract offer, he’s at a time of his career where you need to understand that he’s playing the best football of his life.

"He’ll need to weigh up the pros from our point of view in terms of staying at Hearts and what he can achieve, but he also has to understand that it’s a short career. He has to do the best he can for him and his family. Everyone within the club and who supports it need to understand that and respect it and just enjoy him for as long as we have him. Whether that is for the length of this contract or beyond.”

When asked if he was surprised that there hadn’t been more concrete interest in the league’s top scorer, he said: “Football is like the wild west, what people think is good and what they don’t think is good, the perception is whatever it may be, but for us we are