Heart of Midlothian head coach Steven Naismith believes it would be "silly" not to offer a new deal to a player like Lawrence Shankland.

The Hearts captain and top scorer has 18 months left on his deal and has been linked in the media with Rangers. However, chief executive Andrew McKinlay confirmed at the club's AGM that they have had no contact from anyone over a possible January move and it would take an "exceptional offer" for Hearts to consider selling him.

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McKinlay also revealed the club have plans to talk with Shankland, who has netted 40 goals for the club since joining in summer 2022, over a new deal.

Naismith is keen for the club to do what they can to keep their best players.

“There’s been a lot of noise, the club’s stance is very clear and it’s the stance of a club that’s trying to be progressive and wants to be successful," he said.

“As a club and as you’ve seen with some signings and hopefully others in the near future, the club are trying to grow and by doing that you need to try and keep your best players.

“It would be silly not to offer new contracts to the guys you feel are valuable and can play a part in the long term future of the club.”

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Meanwhile, Naismith is hopeful Craig Gordon, Beni Baningime and Craig Halkett extend their contracts. All three are on deals which expire at the end of the season with Baningime and Halkett have been offered extensions, as revealed by Hearts Standard earlier this week.

“The conversations I’ve had with all the players we want to keep have been good," he said. "They understand what they’ve got but I know football, it’s a business where there’s loads of factors to it. For a player they will take the time they need and for a club if that takes too long you need to think about moving on and looking at other things."