Greek giants AEK Athens close in on deal for Hearts star Penrice

Hearts defender James Penrice is set to complete a move to Greek giants AEK Athens.

The left-back, who joined from Livingston last summer, was Hearts’ player of the year, making 38 appearances and scoring twice.

The Tynecastle club can expect a seven-figure fee for Penrice, who has two years left on his contract.

The 26-year-old had previously been linked with English Championship trio Southampton, Watford and Preston North End.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Shankland revealed he simply could not bring himself to close the door on his Hearts career after the talismanic captain dramatically re-signed with the Edinburgh club for the next three years.

The 29-year-old Scotland forward — who has scored 68 goals since arriving from Belgian side Beerschot in 2022 — looked to be on his way out of Tynecastle after several rounds of negotiations over the past 18 months failed to result in a contract extension.

After becoming a free agent this summer and exploring his options, however, Shankland has been persuaded by new manager Derek McInnes to accept an offer to become the club’s highest-paid player, with the deal until 2028 confirmed yesterday.

‘I had a couple of weeks at the end of the season on holiday and to get married, and then after that, I gave it a month to think about things and weigh up options,’ said Shankland.

‘I had a couple that popped up, but the family side of things just wasn’t right for me. And in the meantime, I’d been speaking to the manager about coming back here. I’d always left the door open. I couldn’t seem to close the door behind me, and that gave me an indication of where my head might be at.

‘After speaking to the family and where they want to be, especially my four-year-old Eva, who’s in love with Jock the Jambo (Hearts’ mascot), it was back here. I’m happy with my decision and the family are happy as well.’

The retention of their most prolific forward of the 21st Century represents a significant coup for Hearts at a time when they are embarking on an exciting new era in partnership with Jamestown Analytics and with Brighton owner Tony Bloom on board as a minority investor.

‘Lawrence is a really popular boy, but he’s still got so much to do here,’ said McInnes. ‘We want to be lifting silverware. We want to be going into group stages in Europe and we want to have a consistent thing going here. Having Lawrence gives us a better chance of achieving that.’