Lawrence Shankland scored again for Hearts yesterday, this time in their momentous showdown versus Rangers. He made this season’s PFA Team of the Season, supplementing his Player of the Season status 2 years ago. Aged 30, he has over 230 career goals to his name. Yet, his critics argue he lacks pace & has never scored consistently at a higher club level than the Scots top tier. Does Lawrence Shankland merit a place at the World Cup with the Scotland Men’s National Team (SMNT)?
| Name | Lawrence Shankland |
| Age | 30 |
| Club | Heart of Midlothian |
| Club’s division | Scots top tier |
| Club’s division Opta rating | 75.2 (40th globally) |
| SMNT appearances | 18 |
| SMNT goals | 4 |
| Most recent SMNT appearance | November 2025 (v Denmark) |
Lawrence Shankland early career
Lawrence Shankland started his senior career at then amateur club, Queen’s Park. He was a team mate of Andy Robertson in the season the future Scotland captain spent there. 14 goals in 43 games earned then 17 year old Shankland a move to Aberdeen, under then boss Derek McInnes.
Shankland’s time at Pittodrie is largely forgettable. 17 games with a total of 250 minutes yielding 1 assist and zero goals, tells the tale of a young striker who didn’t establish himself. There were loan glimpses though of what he offered; 4 goals for Morton, 7 for Dunfermline and 14 for St Mirren.
Then Shankland transferred down 2 divisions to Ayr United. His goal blitz propelled the Honest Men to the 3rd tier divisional title. Shankland for his efforts earned the divisional PFA Player of the Season award. His goals continued to flow the next season, now in the 2nd tier. So much so, he had 3 Player of the Month awards in a 10 month period with Ayr, spanning 2 divisions. He left Ayr with a prolific scoring record; 63 goals in 74 games.
Dundee United
Shankland moved from Ayr to another club then also in Scotland’s 2nd tier, Dundee United. Largely through Shankland’s goals, United were promoted as divisional champions in his 1st season there. Then though manager Robbie Neilson departed for Hearts. New boss Micky Mellon often played Shankland out wide to accommodate Mark McNulty as CF. Unsurprisingly, Shankland’s goals return dropped significantly. United’s 9th place finish that season was deemed sufficiently unsatisfactory by the Tannadice bigwigs, to cost Mellon his job. Shankland then left early in his 3rd season at United with 40 goals from 74 games.
Lawrence Shankland in Belgium
Shankland had a season in Belgium’s top tier, often ranked by Opta as the world’s best outside the ‘big 5 divisions’. Shankland’s season there wasn’t great, although largely not due to him. 3 coaches in 1 season hardly paints a picture of a stable club. And Shankland again spent time being played out wide.
Beerschot ended up relegated, despite having Moises Caicedo on the playing staff. Shankland scored 5 goals in 28 games. A key moment given the importance of derby games, was what would have been his winning goal v Antwerp. However VAR ruled out the goal for an infringement 35 seconds earlier.
Peak Lawrence Shankland – Hearts
Then in 2022 came the move to the club that has seen the best of Lawrence Shankland, Hearts. Goals flowed quickly for Shankland at Tynecastle with only the 3rd of his 4 seasons there to date, relatively short of his goals. As well as the 86 Hearts goals he has so far, he also has 29 assists, giving credibility to those who highlight the overlooked quality of his link up play.
Shankland was out of contract last summer. New boss, McInnes who had previously signed Shankland at Aberdeen, saw Shankland as instrumental to his plans for the season ahead. Eventually Shankland inked a new deal to become part of the Tony Bloom, Jamestown Analytics era at Tynecastle.
Shankland has been in good form this season for top of the table Hearts, being voted into the PFA Team of the Season. That is despite missing 2 months with a hamstring injury. If he hadn’t been injured, perhaps he could have repeated his 2023-24 achievement, of being Scotland’s Player of the Season. That though is hypothetical. What isn’t hypothetical, is that since coming back from injury he has started the last 4 Hearts games. In those 4 games he is bang in form; 3 goals and 1 assist. How chiefs at the Old Firm clubs that have both missed a prolific scorer this season, must regret not signing him when he was available last summer.
Shankland for Scotland
4 goals from 18 Scotland caps doesn’t indicate a prolific international goalscorer. Considering Shankland though has played only 524 mins for Scotland, that equates to a goal every 131 minutes. Or to re-phrase, better than 2 goals for every three full games of 90 minutes of play.
Steve Clarke though generally prefers Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes, making it difficult for others to dislodge those 2 from the team. Shankland was given his chance of a start in the friendly v Netherlands in Amsterdam in March 2024. Put clear through on goal by Scott McTominay in the 62nd minute, Shankland fluffed his chance and hit the bar. Scotland had played well up til that moment despite being 1-0 down, pinging the ball around well. With Clarke looking to give players in his squad caps, Shankland subbed off 2 minutes later, denying him a chance of redemption. Scotland eventually lost heavily, 0-4.
2 of his 4 Scotland goals have been important ones. Despite only being subbed on in the 86th minute in Georgia, 6 foot 1 Shankland headed the equaliser to earn a 2-2 Euros qualifier draw.
Then came his most famous moment in a Scotland jersey. In November 2025, Scotland needed a win v Denmark to automatically qualify for WC 2026. Shankland again subbed on, this time in the 64th minute. 14 minutes later, Lewis Ferguson sent over an in-swinging corner from the left. Shankland from one yard helped the ball into the net. Supplementing McTominay’s earlier goal, that put Scotland 2-1 up. Scotland famously went on to win 4-2, thanks to seismic injury time worldies by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean.
What does Shankland offer?
Despite that miss in Amsterdam, Shankland is seen as an excellent finisher. Indeed, many claim that as a finisher, he is the best Scotland can offer. Shankland’s critics point out 2 shortcomings. 1stly, his lack of pace. And 2ndly that Shankland at club level hasn’t scored consistently anywhere higher than the currently 40th highest Opta ranked division on earth; i.e. the Scots top tier.
His proponents argue he compensates for lack of pace with quick thinking and sharp reactions aided by his 2-footed finishing ability. For an example, see his composed, controlled, crisp 1st time left foot strike v Rangers yesterday. He’s a contrast to the regrettably large number of Scots strikers, who have to waste precious time working the ball on their stronger foot before attempting to shoot. Not Shankland; given sight of goal, he is clinical with either foot.
Clarke clearly favours Adams and Dykes, with both looking stick-ons for the World Cup squad. Shankland’s finishing though is at a level neither Adams nor Dykes can boast. So much so, 30 year old Shankland now has over 230 career goals to his name. Adams especially though can point out that he has played in much higher standard divisions than those in which Shankland has consistently scored.
Strikers competing with Shankland to be selected for WC 2026
The stakes are high for Steve Clarke at WC 2026. Unlike the lack of Scots goalkeeping strength in depth, Clarke has plenty of strikers to choose from.
Adams missed the Torino game at the weekend through injury. There’s no suggestion so far though that he is a major World Cup doubt. Both Adams & Dykes are expected to travel to USA as Clarke’s favoured strikers.
Shankland missed the March internationals due to injury. It is widely expected that had he been fit, he would have maintained his place in the squad from November. That though perhaps is an over-optimistic view of Shankland’s place in the squad; he wasn’t in the September nor October squads.
The only player when fit who can at least match Shankland as a lethal finisher, is Ross Stewart. Robbie Ure is currently making a name for himself in Sweden as a prolific goalscorer, in a division ranked 26th globally, 14 places higher by Opta than the division Shankland plays in. Exciting as it is to see Ure’s current hot streak, Ure has still to show he can score with long term consistency.
Stewart, Tommy Conway, George Hirst & Oli McBurnie all scored on Saturday in England’s 2nd tier. Similarly, Kieron Bowie scored at the weekend against no less opposition than Juventus.
Previously in form Fraser Hornby missed his club’s game at the weekend due to injury (again). Hornby’s hopes of a 1st call up to the squad seem faint for WC 2026. Oli Burke played at the weekend for Union Berlin. Burke is that rare commodity; a Scots striker with searing pace. 29 year old Burke though has a career long pedigree as an infrequent scorer.
Will Lawrence Shankland be selected for the Scotland WC 2026 squad?
Shankland has much currently in his favour. In great form (watched by Steve Clarke at Tynecastle yesterday, as was Marc Leonard), he is seen by many as Scotland’s best available finisher. He has recent squad incumbency, possibly invaluable given Clarke’s reputation for loyalty to his established squad members. Shankland also has that he scored in his last SMNT outing; namely that high profile goal v Denmark. His strike rate of a goal after every 141 minutes of international football is very creditable.
Expect Lawrence Shankland if fit, to be among the 4 or 5 strikers Steve Clarke selects for the Scotland WC squad.
