Shankland has been repeatedly touted with a move to Ibrox in recent weeks after another strong campaign in front of goal in the Scottish Premiership…The prolific forward is due to be out of contract at the end of next season, although Hearts hope to tie the prolific forward down to a “lucrative” new deal before then [Edinburgh Evening News
Providing an update on the situation on Sky Sports News [17 January, 3:40pm], Benstead said: “Rangers still want to bring in a forward player and there is interest in Lawrence Shankland of Hearts.
“I’m told that the figures involved if that was to happen would not be insurmountable – it could be done straightforwardly. But they will perhaps have to move some bodies off the wage bill first and will need a common consensus that he is the right player to go for.
There’s a lot of interest within Rangers, but also some doubting voices who think they should go for someone else.
“They also need to be mindful of the fact that Hearts will need to bring in a replacement, so they can’t drag their heels in too much.”The whole left-back situation at Rangers has garnered plenty of attention, with Ridvan Yilmaz being strongly linked with the exit and Borna Barisic soon to be out of contract. Away from that, a new striker has to be at the top of Philippe Clement’s wishlist. In Shankland, they could sign a player ready to hit the ground running the day he signs.
As a reminder, Shankland has has 13 goals in the league this season – plus a further five in other competitions – and is, let’s face it, a better option than Cyriel Dessers.
- It is not known exactly how much he would cost, but should he not put pen to paper first, a bid between £3.5million and £5m would surely be enough.
That second figure is a tad on the steep side, granted, but signing another player who can net double figures between now and the end of the season could be the difference between finishing first and second.
