SHANKLAND A KID AGAIN AT HEARTS

LAWRENCE Shankland insisted Hearts didn’t have to go for the hard sell after revealing he was keen to return to a club where he has fond childhood memories. The 26-year-old Scotland striker finally signed a three-year deal with Robbie Neilson’s side yesterday in a six-figure move from Belgian team Beerschot. Shankland recalled how he was part of the club’s youth set-up until the age of 12 and is now desperate to make an impression in the first team. Reunited with boss Neilson after working with him at Dundee United, the forward said: ‘I’m delighted to get the deal done and be here. ‘I was in the academy at Hearts when I was around seven to 12. I enjoyed it as a kid and hopefully I can bring success to the first team now. They didn’t need to pitch it to me. It was a club I was part of since I was a kid, so when I got the chance to come back I was keen. ‘It was a successful season last year, this season they’re in European football, so it wasn’t a hard sell at all.’ Neilson signed Shankland for United from Ayr in 2019 and the marksman scored 26 goals in his only season under the Hearts boss. Shankland added: ‘I had a good relationship with the manager and the staff when I was at United. I kept in touch with them, they were messaging when I left and went over to Belgium to wish me all the best. Eventually they started to speak to my representative about bringing me here and it made me very keen to come. I’m delighted.’ Despite only managing six goals in 26 appearances for Beerschot as the team were relegated from the Jupiler Pro League, Shankland insists his spell in Belgium was not a complete waste of time. ‘It was a tough season but I played quite a lot of games in the end and gained a fair bit of experience, scored a few goals against good teams as well,’ he said. Shankland wasn’t registered in time for last night’s friendly against Preston North End at Deepdale, which Hearts lost 2-1.