It had been assumed Lawrence Shankland would be moving on from Hearts this summer.
The Jambos captain is out of contract at the end of the season and has previously turned down reportedly lucrative offers to extend his stay in Gorgie.
Previously in demand after rattling in over 50 goals in his first two seasons at Tynecastle, the club stood firm over their £5million valuation on him last summer amid reported interest from Rangers and elsewhere.
The 29-year-old’s form has dipped this season and therefore he may not demand the same levels of interest, but Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay admitted his gut feeling was still that the number nine would move on.
Shankland himself appeared to suggest he would in fact be leaving with the two parties not having returned to the table, althought Hearts were told by former captain Michael Stewart they were ‘mental’ not to still have a contract on offer.
There were rumours of a potential exit back in January amid Turkish interest but manager Neil Critchley played that down.
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Hearts want to get Shankland on a new contract
There has now been a significant update on the situation with the news Hearts are aiming to tie Shankland down to a new deal.
As reported by the Edinburgh Evening News, Gorgie chiefs have not given up hope of keeping the Scotland international around and will initiate talks designed to gauge his own interest.
Critchley said: “We are concentrating on the games at the moment. I’m sure, with Shanks and some of the other players who are out of contract in the summer, those talks will come,
“We need to make sure we take care of business in the league first before we start planning further ahead with those players. Those conversations will come, but at the moment our full concentration is on the team and the players understand that.
“Shanks has been an integral member of the team over the last few years and he has scored a lot of goals. We know his importance to the team.
“He also has his own thoughts, opinions, and his career to think about. At some point in the next few weeks and months, I’m sure that situation will become clearer.
“We just have to take care of our own business in the league first and then we can think about where we are going to go with Shanks and some other players.
“Those conversations will happen. They haven’t happened yet but they will at some point.”
Who else is out of contract at Hearts?
Club captain, legend and current number one Craig Gordon is another coming to the end of his deal and it is understood the club plan to talk to the 42-year-old too.
Barrie McKay is another and he is expected to move on after being frozen out and the same could be said for Jorge Grant, although he has been involved under Critchley.
Gerald Taylor and Elton Kabangu are on loans until the end of the season but Hearts have options to buy both.