K Beerschot VA defender Frédéric Frans believes Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland is becoming a legend. after being mis-profiled in Belgium.
The two players were Beerschot teammates for a season, before the Scotland international signed for Hearts.
Speaking to Gazet van Antwerpen, Frans was asked about the progress Shankland has made since leaving Belgium.
The 37-year-old believes the Hearts star always had the ability, but wasn’t used correctly at Beerschot.
Frans went on to say if he was a coach, he would like the Scot in his team as he guarantees goals.
“Shankie is a true centre forward, but often had to play on the right wing out of necessity. At times, he was almost a right-back. He defended conscientiously, but because of those sacrifices, he didn’t get into the box often enough. Sometimes he even sat on the bench, which was incomprehensible.
“Had Shankland not been used incorrectly at Beerschot, he would have scored more and then a Belgian top club would have come in for him. He is not extremely fast or strong, but the most important thing is he can finish. As a coach, I would really like to have Shankie in my team. At Hearts he is becoming a legend,” said Frans.
Hearts have experienced player
Frans was also asked about the season the Jambos are experiencing after finding themselves top of the table after 22 games.
On top of Shankland scoring the goals, Frans believes there’s other experienced players at the club which are contributing to the success.
“There are still many players from my time (in Scotland with Dundee United and Partick Thistle), with a lot of experience. A lot of talent has now been added to that. Hearts was already quite a big club; there are an average of 25k supporters in the stadium and the derby against Hibernian is very much alive.
“Tony Bloom is now ensuring success, as he does everywhere. He really wants to nestle between those two top clubs with Hearts. Moreover, Hearts is lucky that Celtic and Rangers are also just less this year,” said the Belgian defender.
Shankland signed for the Edinburgh club in 2022 and has since gone on to score 83 goals in 163 games. He’s the current top scorer in the Scottish Premiership, with 11 goals in 22 games.
His goals have helped Hearts open up a six-point lead, going into the latter stages of the season.
