George Overhill

Wed 22 November 2023 18:10, UK

Rangers may have spent significant money in the summer to bring in three strikers as part of Michael Beale’s much-anticipated overhaul but they are already faced with returning to the market for Philippe Clement.

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland has emerged as the top name on the list of many pundits ahead of the January window, but developments in the Netherlands with Kevin van Veen could now make him the midseason favourite.

The Dutchman told the Scottish Sun on 21 November that his £500,000 summer move from Motherwell to Groningen hasn’t worked out as planned and he is now looking at a winter return to Scotland.

He revealed that Rangers had shown interest in the summer before he left Scotland and singled out the club as one of two named options for a return to Scotland along with his former side, with multiple clubs having been in touch with his agent over a loan move.

Van Veen admitted that at 32 he may not fit the Ibrox transfer profile, but with Scotland international Shankland tipped to cost at least £5million to prize out of Tynecastle the older of the two could be an affordable short-term option.

While the Groningen man is available and clearly willing to move, with his club having little use for him after a falling out with manager Dick Lukkien despite five league goals so far this season, the Jambos are instead sure to be loath to lose their captain and talisman midseason.

Clement admitted ahead of two Rangers meetings with Hearts in the past month that he was well aware of the “interesting” Shankland after the 28-year-old spent the season before last at the Gers boss’ own former club Beerschot.

With 10 goals in all competitions so far this term and a high-profile Scotland equaliser during the international break it would be no surprise if the Ibrox manager has his eye on adding the SPFL man where possible.

But the chances of doing so could be much higher in the summer as it would afford Hearts the opportunity to implement a proper succession plan, so with Van Veen representing an easier route to proven reinforcement in January there is a potential route to Rangers signing two of the league’s top three scorers from last season in back-to-back windows.

The pair combined for 49 SPFL goals last term, as Van Veen topped Shankland by one with 25, behind Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi, and their exploits got both tipped for an Ibrox switch earlier this year.

In light of Beale instead signing the struggling pair Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers, as well as the more successful Danilo, it has been a source of surprise in Scotland that he didn’t go for targets who had already shown they could be successful in this league.

The Englishman is now gone from Ibrox and Clement is picking up the pieces, which is expected to include work on the goal-scoring department.

An affordable loan for Van Veen would give the Dutchman the escape he is looking for and the Light Blues at least a stop-gap for six months, pending a decision on his longer-term future in the summer, while the club attempt to get things in order for a proper run at Shankland in the offseason.

In other Rangers news, the Ibrox board has made it their “priority” to succeed in ongoing talks as transfer interest grows.