Heart of Midlothian have had no approach from any club for striker Lawrence Shankland, Hearts Standard understands.
The 28-year-old is into the final year of his contract at Tynecastle Park - and as things stand there has been no change in his situation with the club unaware of any interest.
In January Hearts had no offers for the player. However, they offered Shankland a new contract that would have made him the club's highest-paid player and extended the deal until 2027. That contract offer came with a deadline which was passed with no agreement.
Rangers, as they were before and during January, have once again been linked with Shankland but there are differing opinions within the Ibrox club over the striker's suitability to their playing style. They are yet to make any approach to Hearts.
Speaking earlier today (July 30), Rangers chairman John Bennett discussed the club's player trading model, backing boss Philippe Clement.
He said: "When Philippe has been asked in the media about incomings and the transfer strategy, the recruitment strategy, Philippe has been very, very clear and he has nailed it and we endorse it. That is, recruiting for the long-term as well as for the short-term and he has actually gone further than that, he has actually said, if I can paraphrase him, recruiting only for the short-term has caused problems historically. I completely endorse that. I completely endorse that even to the point that lessons, brutal lessons, have been learned."
Since signing for Hearts from Beerschot for a six-figure fee in 2022, Shankland has scored 59 goals in 94 appearances. Last season he became the first Hearts player to score 30 or more goals since John Robertson in 1988. As well as the golden boot, it brought him the Hearts Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, PFA Scotland Player of the Year, Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year and cinch Premiership Player of the Year awards.
Shankland spoke about his aim of beating that goal record this coming campaign after he netted within one minute of facing Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly.
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"I’ve had two good seasons now and my numbers have been really high but I want to improve on that and keep getting stronger," he said. "That is what I will look to do.
"Obviously, I have set myself a helluva standard over the last couple of seasons and sometimes that could hinder you but I think it’s good for me and, going forward, I can look forward to that challenge.
"We have an opportunity with the European games this year so that gives me the chance to get more European goals and hopefully that will be the case. My tally was good in the league in the last couple of years so if I can keep that number up there and improve on the number of European goals, I’ll be happy."
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