Lawrence Shankland explains THAT Hearts pic as Jambos new number nine reflects on Beerschot spell

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lawrence Shankland has finally explained the photo of him in a Hearts kit as a kid that’s been doing the rounds for years.The Scotland striker will now pull on the maroon as the Jambos’ new number nine after penning a three-year deal.

The Tynecastle club have paid an undisclosed fee to bring him back to the Scottish Premiership from Beerschot in Belgium, where he headed last summer in a £1million move from Dundee United.The internet consensus was that Shankland must have been a childhood Jambo after the photo started doing the rounds online.

But he was actually part of the club’s academy from a young age before leaving before he hit his teens. Shankland went pro with Aberdeen, but didn't quite make the first team breakthrough on a regular basis at Pittodrie.

He joined Ayr United permanently after a loan spell at St Mirren and he hit the goal trail at Somerset Park, eventually earning a switch to Dundee United, where he first linked up with Neilson.“I was in the academy from when I was seven until I was around 12, I think,” he explained. “That was years ago and I had a bit of a barnet back then!