Heart of Midlothian plan to have contract talks with Lawrence Shankland in January over extending his stay at Tynecastle Park.

The striker is the club's most important player and with 12 goals he has scored as many this season as the rest of the squad combined. His seven league goals make up nearly 47 per cent of the team's total.

There has been speculation linking the Scotland international with a move to Rangers, while there was talk over a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer but Hearts "did not receive anything at all" in the way of concrete bids. The club's chief executive Andrew McKinlay told those in attendance at the club's AGM that it would take an "exceptional" offer to convince Hearts to consider selling him.

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In a sit-down with the written press after the AGM, McKinlay outlined the 28-year-old 's importance, noting how valuable he is to helping the team finish third and qualify for European group stage football.

"The stats speak for themselves," he said. "It would be nice if some others chipped in with some goals but Lawrence is vital to the team. He is not someone I would be looking to sell.

"I won't give numbers but it would have to be exceptional. I don't even know what that number would be. If you look at the numbers around being in group stage football in Europe and not being in group-stage football in Europe, that gives you an indication of what that's worth to the club. In fact, the way it is at the moment, he would be the difference. So we are talking significant sums. These are not sums I expect anyone to match."

McKinlay outlined the next steps and the process of opening up contract talks. Shankland's current deal runs until summer 2025. The focus is on the players who are entering the final six months of their deal as well as the January transfer window but that priority could change with discussions expected with the former Dundee United star sooner rather than later.

"That's the great art in this and we are not in control of that," McKinlay said. "We are never in control of that. A player is totally in control of that situation. The point you will make is: 'Yeah, but then you have to decide if we are going to sell him.' At the moment, like any other season, our focus is on the players out of contract at the end of this season. We will get those dealt with first, probably then look at the January window, see where we are, and I would expect us to probably have conversations with Lawrence at that point to see where he is and how he is feeling about things.

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"I'm saying that off the top of my head because that's what we would usually do. That's a normal way that we do business. There is a huge amount that can happen between now and the end of January.

"You would want a chat with any player. With any player you want to understand whether there is a conversation to be had. As I said, the players have the power. Football clubs often get criticised for allowing football players to run down their contracts. I can’t stop a player running down their contract. Yes, you could have sold them before, but if he does not want to go, you cannot force a guy to go somewhere else. There has to be a market.

"As I said earlier, I have not had any indication from anyone that they want to buy Lawrence Shankland. I am not even going down the route of trying to be …I am being unequivocal. We have had nothing in to suggest that anyone is coming in for Lawrence Shankland, other than what everyone keeps talking about in the media."

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Hearts have already offered contracts to some players who are entering the final months of their contract, including Beni Baningime and Craig Halkett. McKinlay said he is "hopeful" they will extend beyond the summer.

"But it is interesting, there’s divided views on those players," he said. "I might be able to do a deal with Beni and or Craig in the summer, but some of the fanbase might say, “but they have been injured, they have been this, and they have been that”. But we would not have offered them contracts if we did not believe they had something to offer beyond this season. We have offered them contracts and it is not uncommon for players to take time to consider their options."