Lawrence Shankland boosts his case as Rangers ‘will have to’ buy striker in January – Jonny McFarlane
Lawrence Shankland “won’t have done his case any harm” with his goalscoring performance at Ibrox as Rangers now “have to” sign a striker in January, according to Jonny McFarlane.
The Rangers Review journalist took to Twitter on 29 October after the Light Blues had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Hearts, with Danilo heading home a 93rd-minute winner.
The Brazilian arrived as part of an overhaul that included the arrival of Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers in the summer, but according to McFarlane the difference between him and his two teammates is “incredibly stark”, leaving Shankland potential in line to come in midseason and join him.
McFarlane wrote: “Danilo isn’t perfect but the difference between him and the other strikers is incredibly stark. Rangers will have to go and get another one in the winter window.
“Shankland won’t have done his case any harm today.”
Has to be considered
It is tempting to go overboard with the links when Shankland scores a great goal at Ibrox and puts in a strong all-round performance on the same pitch as the struggling Rangers signings.
But the Ibrox recruitment department surely have a responsibility now to at least assess his suitability for Philippe Clement’s squad and the likelihood of a deal being possible.
Granted, the 28-year-old has only scored three in the SPFL this season, but he has netted seven times in all competitions this term, after 27 last year.
He was pointed to by various pundits during the summer as someone Michael Beale should have considered, and Michael Stewart even suggested at the weekend that the former boss lost his job after ignoring the Scot in favour of Dessers and Lammers.
It is hard to argue at this stage that Shankland would have been a sounder investment that the Nigerian and the Dutchman, even if Danilo is showing signs of coming good.
Abdallah Sima has also emerged as a solid signing, even if he was poor against Hearts on Sunday, but the noises will only get louder regarding a possible run at the Jam Tarts captain between now and January if things don’t improve in front of goal for some of the current Gers forward line.
In other Rangers news, Tom English doesn’t understand an Ibrox struggler who “fascinates” him but doesn’t look like a player.