Alan Hutton urges Rangers to sign Lawrence Shankland, compares him to Kris Boyd
Alan Hutton has urged Rangers to go and sign Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland in the January transfer window.
Speaking at a Scottish Gas media event on Tuesday (9 January, via the Daily Record), the pundit said signing forwards from other SPFL clubs has been a “proven recipe for success” for the Gers, with Kris Boyd being a “massive example of that”.
He added that the Light Blues need a number nine to “progress” as he questioned why they wouldn’t try and sign the 28-year-old Shankland because he knows how to score goals in the Scottish league.
“It’s a proven recipe for success at Rangers,” said Hutton. “When I was coming through, anyone who gave us problems, Rangers went and got. Look at guys like Kris Boyd, Steven Naismith, Alan Gow at the time, Kenny Miller, Steven Thompson. These were guys who knew the league and could score goals.
“Boydy is a massive example of that. He didn’t play all the time in European games or whatever but in the league, he scored goals. It was that simple. To progress, you need that number nine.
“I feel sometimes there can be a little bit of snobbery around it in terms of going to get Danilo – who is a good player – Dessers and these kind of guys for a lot of money.
“Coming in, you don’t know what pressure you are under and you need to hit the ground running. It can be difficult as it’s shown. But to have someone who knows the league and you know can score goals, why wouldn’t you go for that?”
Make it happen
This is a deal that Rangers should absolutely looking to make happen in this transfer window as Shankland is the best striker in Scotland at this moment in time.
He’s registered 18 goals and three assists in 28 matches for Hearts so far during this campaign, including 13 strikes in the SPFL to lead the goalscoring charts.
The forward is at the peak of his powers right now and could prove to be the difference in the title race this season, with Celtic also being credited with an interest in signing him.
While the likes of Cyriel Dessers has been faltering and Danilo has been struggling with injuries, the Scottish international could come in and add some read-made quality at this level to Philippe Clement’s options.
But the Jambos are unlikely to let him go on the cheap, so the Gers will have to show some ambition if they want to get this deal over the line during this transfer window.
In other Rangers news, a Sky Sports pundit has shared who would be a “terrific” signing for the Gers.