Exclusive: Don Goodman warns Southampton FC of one Lawrence Shankland issue right now | OneFootball

The Saints, alongside West Brom, have been linked with the striker.

Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland may be available as a free agent this summer and has been linked with Championship sides Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

Shankland is still in talks with the Edinburgh-based club over a potential new deal but he will leave the club for nothing this summer if they can't reach an agreement.

The 29-year-old Scottish international has scored 60 goals in his 121 appearances for Hearts in all competitions, as per Sofascore, but the vast majority of those goals came in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns. Last season, Shankland only scored eight times in 38 club games.

Still, this dip in form hasn't been enough to ward off potential suitors as, according to The Scottish Sun, the Saints and the Baggies are both reportedly interested in signing Shankland this summer.

Southampton warned about potential Lawrence Shankland deal

Southampton really struggled for goals in the Premier League - their top scorer, Paul Onuachu, found the back of the net five times all season.

While Shankland's overall record with Hearts was strong, his output over the past year should be a bit of a red flag for Will Still's side, according to Don Goodman.

"He's got a good record in the Scottish Premiership, Lawrence Shankland, there's no doubt about that," Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

"60 goals in 121 games is pretty good, but the majority of them were scored in the previous two seasons, where he had big, big seasons. Last time out: just eight goals, which was a massive drop-off.

"His current form isn't something that you'd imagine would attract the Southamptons of the world, but if you look at his previous form, then, particularly because you wouldn't have to pay any money for him, it may be something worth looking at."

Southampton already have a prolific Scot on their books

It was only two summers ago that the Saints signed one of Scotland's most exciting attacking products. Ross Stewart moved to St Mary's from Sunderland after scoring 39 goals in 80 appearances for the Black Cats in League One and the Championship prior to his Achilles injury.

The trouble is that he's struggled to stay fit ever since moving to the south coast. However, in the final seven weeks of the season he was a much more active member of the squad and netted his first Southampton goal on the last day of the campaign at home against Arsenal.

If he can stay fit, Stewart's presence would make signing Shankland an almost redundant move. He is a proven EFL goalscorer, it's just about keeping him on the pitch for the Saints. If they do that, then they won't have as many striker worries, particularly with Adam Armstrong, Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Diaz all currently on the books.