Lawrence Shankland accelerates Rangers speculation after Viaplay Cup victory amid heavy transfer links to Hearts captain
Lawrence Shankland has likely added to the speculation that he could be in line for a transfer push from Rangers with a social media hint after the Viaplay Cup victory on Sunday (17 December).
The Hearts captain and Light Blues fan has been increasingly linked to a possible January switch to Ibrox and his like on the SPFL Official Instagram page post of the celebrations at Hampden won’t do anything to dispel them.
A late goal from captain James Tavernier secured a 1-0 victory over Aberdeen and the first trophy of the Philippe Clement era, as the Gers head into the January transfer window expected to target a striker [Daily Record, 8 December].
Hearts have indicated it will take an “exceptional” offer to convince them to part with the Scotland international as they do not need to sell [Edinburgh News, 14 December], but the Tynecastle forward has been tipped by various pundits as the prime candidate to answer Clement’s striker problems.
It remains to be seen whether a midseason deal for the 28-year-old is financially viable for Rangers but the Ibrox boss revealed he had followed Shankland since his time in Belgium prior to his first meeting with Hearts.
And while the goalscorer is known to be a Gers fan [Scottish Sun] he will equally realise that there is plenty of suggestion that he is set to be a transfer target, so liking the trophy-win might suggest he would be willing too if the price is right next month.
Ultimately it will come down to numbers because if the two clubs can’t reach an agreement he will remain the main man for Steven Naismith and continue as he has done since he returned to the SPFL by scoring goals.
For him personally it is quite possibly more inviting now to be linked to a move to the club he is a fan of than it would have been at any point in the past couple of years, with the outlook at Ibrox suddenly looking very positive.
A dismal start to the season under Michael Beale is now on the up with Clement in charge and while there are clear issues in the squad still, such as the one Shankland has been tipped to address, the first trophy has already been secured just days after an impressive Europa League qualification as group winners.
With Shankland himself helping to contribute to growing concerns at Celtic, as the Jambos won 2-0 at Parkhead over the weekend to leave the door open for Rangers to take the lead in the title race, there is a feeling that something is growing at Ibrox at last.
A permanent deal for Abdallah Sima has been tipped to take priority over any outside additions but there will be plenty of fans who want the Hearts star to be the top target.
In other Rangers news, a first-team Gers man has been lined up as a prominent candidate to leave for a Euro giant next month.