Heart of Midlothian

Lawrence Shankland is flying back to Glasgow from holiday to have a medical and complete a transfer to Rangers, who have offered the 30-year-old striker a two-year contract - with an option of a third - and will join the Ibrox club for free because of a clause in his Hearts contract. (Daily Record), external

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland will sign for Rangers after agreeing personal terms with the club he supported as a boy. (Scottish Sun), external

Lawrence Shankland could overtake centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez and midfielder Nicolas Raskin as Rangers' new captain should the Scotland striker complete his transfer from Hearts. (Football Insider), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

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Former Hearts striker Ryan Stevenson worries how the club would cope if they were to lose their captain Lawrence Shankland.

The Scotland international is set to join Rangers after consistently being linked with a move to Ibrox in recent years.

Shankland led Hearts to second place this season, with the Tynecastle side missing out on the title to Celtic on the final day. Since joining in 2022, the forward has scored 88 goals in 171 appearances.

"Straight away, you're losing 20 to 30 goals a season if Shankland leaves," Stevenson told BBC Scotland. "You're losing your captain, who is pivotal on and off the park.

"One of Hearts' title rivals is potentially taking their best player. It's a bitter blow. They're going to somehow have to try to replace him and I just don't see how Hearts do that.

"They need to find solutions, maybe that's signing two players. They are going to have to put their money where their mouth is."

Stevenson also feels Shankland could take the captain's armband for Rangers with James Tavernier departing Ibrox after 11 years.

"From Rangers' point of view, what a signing," he said.

"I would be very surprised if he wasn't in with a shout of being Rangers captain too, with Tavernier leaving.

"I think he would score more goals for Rangers than he does for Hearts. If it goes through, it's a tremendous signing for Rangers."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh spoke last Sunday about the club's need for leaders, ideally Scottish leaders and gnarled professionals.

He never mentioned Lawrence Shankland but almost didn't need to. The striker is everything he was describing. Rangers are not particularly lacking for goals - they outscored Celtic and Hearts in the Scottish Premiership in the season just gone - but they need steel and presence and Shankland provides that.

It was evident on Friday that things were moving quickly. It's still not definite - as of now he has not signed and there's still a medical to complete - but everything is heading rapidly in the right direction from a Rangers perspective, if not from a Hearts point of view.

Shankland is returning from holiday and final agreement would appear to be imminent. Pending any departures he would join Youssef Chermiti, Ryan Naderi, Bojan Miovski and Danilo as Danny Rohl's options up front. It's unlikely that all of those will be Rangers players come the start of the season. Shankland, if it gets done, would be the main man.

People with knowledge of the negotiations are being coy about what Rangers are paying Hearts for Shankland. Both sides are not comfortable talking about a supposed break clause in Shankland's Hearts contract that would allow him to leave for nothing, a scenario that would, no doubt, infuriate Hearts fans even further.

Losing their captain and principal scorer is bad enough but losing him for little or no money might be deemed insult added to injury. Right now, the phrases being used are 'undisclosed fee' and 'Rangers paid the required amount'.

Shankland has a prolific record for Hearts against Rangers, scoring both in a 2-0 win at Ibrox in September, getting what turned out to be the winner against them in December and in May, both times at Tynecastle.

He scored against Rangers in a 3-3 draw in May, 2024 and scored in a 3-1 loss and a 2-1 loss in November and October 2023. He's the most prolific scorer Hearts have had since the great John Robertson.

Shankland netted 20 goals for Derek McInnes' team in their near-glory season, part of which he missed through injury. He's pushing hard to start for Scotland against Haiti in the opening game of the World Cup.

For McInnes, this will come as a bitter blow. Shankland and Hearts were at a bit of a stand-off at the end of season 2024-25, a long-running dispute over salary between the club and the player's representatives threatening to see an end of him at Tynecastle.

When McInnes was appointed manager, one of the main items on his list was to keep Shankland. He was insistent he needed the striker and a deal was done. McInnes and Shankland have worked excellently together. Those days would appear to be over. Shankland to Rangers will take a lot of beating as the signing of the summer.

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Rangers want to sign Hearts captain and Scotland forward Lawrence Shankland, 30. (Sun), external

Advanced talks are taking place over Shankland's proposed move to Ibrox. (Sky Sports), external

A deal for Shankland to join Rangers could be completed by the start of next week. (Record - subscription required), external

Rangers are pushing for a move as quickly as possible with Shankland soon to be joining up with Scotland's World Cup squad. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Sunday's Scottish gossip

York City forward Malachi Fagan-Walcott, 24, is a transfer target for Hearts. (Record - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, three Major League Soccer clubs are keen on Hearts' Australia midfielder Cammy Devlin, 27. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Saturday's Scottish gossip

Derek McInnes wants to bring St Johnstone goalkeeping coach Gordon Marshall to Hearts, having previously worked with him at Aberdeen and St Johnstone. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

Hearts remain hopeful of beating competition for the signature of 20-year-old Lincoln City centre-back MJ Kamson-Kamara after detailed talks, but they have not yet made a move for 28-year-old Falkirk winger Calvin Miller, who would command a decent six-figure fee, while 20-year-old Hannover midfielder Alexander Vogel is not on their radar despite reports. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Former Celtic, Hearts and Scotland player Mike Galloway has died at the age of 60.

Galloway joined Hearts from Halifax Town for £60,000 in 1987 and went on to make 86 appearances for the Tynecastle club, scoring 22 goals.

Comfortable in defence or midfield, Galloway helped Hearts to a runners-up finish in the top flight in 1987-88.

He shone the following season in their run to the Uefa Cup quarter-finals - which remains Hearts' best European campaign.

Galloway moved in 1989 to Celtic where he played 160 games, although honours eluded him during a fallow period for the club.

England-born Galloway earned one cap for Scotland, in a 1-0 defeat to Romania in a European qualifier in 1991.

Following a brief loan spell with Leicester City, his playing career ended at Celtic in 1995 following a near-fatal car crash. He later had coaching stints with Tranent Juniors, Wooler, Coldstream, Berwick United and Eyemouth United.

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Heart of Midlothian are eyeing a move for Falkirk winger Calvin Miller - just months after a proposed return to Celtic fell through for the 28-year-old. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

As Colin Chisholm has belted out more than once this season, "there's nae other team to compare with the Hearts" and that just about sums up how I feel after the past 12 months.

What a journey it has been, both on and off the pitch. More than anything, the overwhelming feeling among Jambos now is pride; pride in the team, pride in the club and pride in the direction Hearts are heading.

Yes, there is still a tinge of disappointment we did not win the title for the first time in more than six decades. But that sits alongside genuine joy at what has been achieved since Derek McInnes arrived as head coach and Tony Bloom came in as a shareholder.

Bloom said he expected Hearts to win the title within 10 years. Even the most optimistic supporter would not have imagined that dream could feel so close within 10 months.

There has been plenty of debate about what happened at Celtic Park, and some of the refereeing decisions that led into that game. I could write a dissertation on all of that, but the bigger point is Hearts supporters should also take a step back and recognise the scale of what this team has achieved this campaign.

Hearts have split the Old Firm for the first time in 20 years, earned the right to compete in the Champions League qualifiers and finished with a record 80 points. That is not a near miss to be dismissed - it is a season of real substance.

Hearts have not just been the talk of the Toon. Their rise has drawn attention far beyond Edinburgh, with interest in the club and in the wider Scottish game growing globally because of what this side has managed domestically.

In McInnes, Hearts have a leader supporters fully trust and believe in - probably more than at any time since Jim Jefferies' first spell in the late 1990s.

There were doubts in some quarters about whether McInnes would fit the Jamestown Analytics model, but this season he has clearly outperformed expectations, which at the outset were simply to get us back into third place.

I did worry McInnes might be tempted by the Scotland job this summer, but I still believe he will remain in charge until he brings silverware back to Gorgie.

If you put aside record signing Eduardo Ageu - who has spent much of the season cheering on from the sidelines like a Gorgie Ultra - Hearts' spending has been broadly in line with Aberdeen and Hibs.

That should give Jambos enormous encouragement for what comes next. If the recruitment continues to improve, as clubs such as Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise have shown is possible with the right model, this season may yet prove to be only the beginning.

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Hearts are one of the clubs interested in 22-year-old central defender Leon King, who is leaving Rangers under freedom of contract, having not been offered new terms. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Meanwhile, Hearts' head of recruitment William Lancefield is set to leave Tynecastle for the same job with Luton Town. (Peter O'Rourke on X), external

Tuesday's Scottish gossip

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Former England captain Alan Shearer says as a neutral he could not accept the decision which he felt cost Hearts in their failed Premiership title push.

Hearts were beaten 3-1 by Celtic on the final day of the league season, a result which took the Parkhead side above Hearts at the top.

However, in the penultimate round of league fixtures, Celtic beat Motherwell 3-2 courtesy of a controversial late penalty, given for handball against Sam Nicholson after a VAR intervention.

Had that game finished 2-2, Hearts would have only needed to avoid a three-goal defeat against Celtic.

"People have not seen their club win a trophy perhaps ever, yet that title up in Scotland was decided by that decision," Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast.

"I'm not even involved in it and I don't watch a lot of Scottish football, but clearly this season I think it's been really interesting because of what Hearts have done.

"For that decision to go for Celtic as it did, I just do not accept it. I'm not a Hearts fan, so I can imagine how angry they are up there."

Podcast host and fellow former England striker Gary Lineker was similarly unimpressed.

"It actually got me quite cross watching that because I just thought that whole season was decided…" said Lineker.

"It was extraordinary. He quite clearly headed it. If that had hit his hand, there's no way it would have travelled the 20-odd yards that it did.

"We've got no skin in the game, obviously, there, but you just look at it and think, that was wrong. I mean, that was so wrong.

"And then Celtic beat them right at the end and if that scoreline had been the case and that hadn't have been given, they would have won the league, obviously."

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Celtic's last-day Scottish Premiership title could put "more fear" into opposition clubs, believes former striker Cillian Sheridan.

The defending champions, who lost eight league games and had three different managers this season, trailed Hearts for a long period before finally pipping them to the post with victory in Saturday's dramatic decider at Celtic Park.

"I feel like it's going to put a little bit, maybe more fear into other clubs as well, going forward where they've went and lost eight games, they've had all that turbulence going on, and yet they still managed to come through and win," said Sheridan, who scored four goals in 19 Celtic appearances.

"And the Hearts players who went through it for the first time, might look at that and be like, OK, there is other parts to it. It's not just going out and playing well. There's a lot more to actually winning. That's something that's not a tangible thing that you can see. It's just kind of, I guess, something that's just there and you can build it up over time."

However, Sheridan added of runners-up Hearts: "It's probably going to benefit in the long run once the dust settles and they get over the disappointment of it.

"They'll probably have a little bit more belief that maybe it was there for us, like we could have done it. And then you'd hope from their point of view that it gives them that motivation to go again next season."

More from Sheridan on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast

Hearts manager Derek McInnes encourages his side to use the disappointment of missing out on the Scottish Premiership to fuel next season's ambitions. (Sun), external

Meanwhile, forward Claudio Braga says Hearts will be ready to challenge again. (Sun), external

Monday's Scottish gossip

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Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis said his side went from "heaven to hell in 90 minutes" after Celtic snatched what would have been a first league title in 66 years from the Edinburgh club's grasp.

The fallout from Saturday's title decider rumbles on after Celtic fans spilled on to the pitch following the final goal of their side's 3-1 win before confronting Hearts players in chaotic scenes.

Police Scotland vowed "robust and swift" action against anybody found to have committed criminality.

Kyziridis had been one of Hearts' star players as they came within minutes of a draw that would have ended a 41-year wait for a team other than Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers to win the Scottish title.

"From heaven to hell in 90 minutes. A story I will remember for the rest of my life, even though it didn't have a happy ending," the Greek posted on Instagram.

"I promise you this was only the beginning, and next year we will try again to achieve the best possible result."

Sportscene pundits Ryan Stevenson and Darren O'Dea expect Hearts to use their title heartbreak as fuel for next season and beyond.