Lawrence Shankland would score 20 goals for Rangers amid ‘question marks’ over Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima transfers – Kenny Miller
There are “question marks” over how well Rangers attacking signings Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima will take to Scottish football with the requirements at Ibrox, says Kenny Miller.
With Celtic picking up a domestic treble last season there is no room not to start winning immediately next term so the BBC pundit is unsure of whether the permanent arrival from Sampdoria or the loan pick up from Brighton will adapt.
And he named Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland as the kind of proven option that would leave no doubts about goal-return, comparing the Scotland international to the signing of Kris Boyd.
Miller said in his Daily Record column: “If you were bringing in Lawrence Shankland from Hearts, you could say quite confidently that he’d score 20 goals. But with guys coming from different leagues, at different stages of their careers, there is more risk.
“Sima and Lammers have come off the back of poor seasons at relegated clubs. So you can’t say with any great belief that they’ll hit it off. There are question marks. And only the players themselves can answer them.
“Scottish boys, like Boyd or Shankland, would also know all about going to Kilmarnock on the opening day. The pressure involved, the necessity to win, how you can’t slip up.
“It’s harder to explain that to a 22-year-old from Senegal who was in the French league last season. You can tell him and give him all the information.
“But until you live it, and you’re standing there before kick-off – or coming off the bench when the score is 1-1 – that’s when it hits you. You’ll only find out about the player’s mindset once he’s actually in the thick of it.”
Additions
Links between Rangers and Shankland have arisen more than once in recent months in light of the volume of goals the Hearts man has scored, including from Boyd himself.
But as yet there doesn’t appear to have been the same outlook from Michael Beale, and if he is able to complete the attacking signings that he appears to be after the is unlikely to be space for the Scot.
Cyriel Dessers looks likely to become the third forward brought in during the window after a breakthrough was finally made with Cremonese.
And despite that development there apparently remains interest in Feyenoord’s Brazilian striker Danilo, who appears unlikely to be cheap.
If a deal were possible for Shankland he perhaps wouldn’t cost as much as some of Beale’s preferred targets, and there would be some logic in adding him to the forward department.
As with local players from any league, growing up with a familiarity of the landscape brings an awareness that takes time to develop in signings from elsewhere.
But top level professionals haven’t got to where they are without their own drive to be successful, and there are at times doubts over SPFL players’ ceiling in terms of quality.
Lammers scoring record is obviously underwhelming in recent seasons, and would make a Shankland deal look attractive in comparison, but Beale went after him and clearly values what he can bring to the set up.
And if Sima can be a standout for Slavia Prague as a teenager there is no reason he can’t be for Rangers as a 22-year-old, but the proof will be when the season gets under way.
In other Rangers news, the recent transfer developments show that Beale has no space for an “unbelievable” Gers ace who is now set to go.