Hearts have been told where the focus of their £5m riches should be going this summer - and it's not on new signings.

Ryan Stevenson has encouraged his former club to tie down Lawrence Shankland on a new, long-term contract.

The Jambos talisman has stalled talks over a new deal with Tynecastle chiefs until the season is over. 

Hearts are on the brink of finishing third which will see them guaranteed European football next season, whether it be in the Europa League or Europa Conference League. This, in turn, will signal a huge boost to the finances of the club, with £5m set to be raked in.

Yan Dhanda, Blair Spittal and James Penrice have all agreed to pre-contracts with Steven Naismith's side this summer.

While it's great Hearts have got some new signings over the line already, Stevenson reckons the new wealth should be used to offer Shankland a lucrative enough deal for him to stay.

"I've been interested to read some of the commentary in recent days about the prospect of the money helping Hearts to get closer to the Old Firm," he told the Daily Record. "Well, I'll ask one question. How much would it cost to replace Lawrence's influence and goals?

"You could take the whole £5m and it would not get near it. In fact, you could spend £10m and maybe still not get what Lawrence gives you. So forget about who to bring in next. Concentrate on keeping the main man. To get him tied down on that long-term deal would be the biggest deal they could do this summer. If they do have to pay him a bit extra, well so what?

"Every now and again, there are players that you just need to go that extra mile for. He is the club captain, he is the talisman and I'd be happy to go to £10,000 or £12,000 per week. That'd be big for Hearts. I'd imagine there are a number of boys on £4,000-£6,000 a week, so I think if you gave him £12,000 with add-ons with scoring bonuses and appearances, that could work.

"To be honest, offer a decent wage with a £500,000 signing-on fee and that's job done. Half a million straight into your account. You are skipping all the way to the bank with that. It sounds a lot, but it's only 10 per cent of what they are going to get for group-stage qualification.

"Put it this way, you offer him £1m and you've still got £4m left over. It sounds like a heavy-duty spend, but the hole that would be left without Lawrence's goals would be impossible to replace.

"The grass is not always greener and that goes for both parties. When you get to a certain age and a certain stage, you need to realise that as a player. Lawrence has seen that from his own time when he went to Belgium and sometimes you just need to keep watering your own garden."