BBC Sport pundit shares new Rangers ‘question mark’ in Lawrence Shankland January transfer admission
Craig Moore has suggested that the “question mark” that may be stopping Rangers from making a move to sign Lawrence Shankland this January may well be his age.
Philippe Clement is keen to strengthen his forward line at Ibrox during the January window and one player who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Glasgow this month is Hearts and Scotland striker Shankland but so far no move has been completed.
Shankland has scored 13 goals in 21 Premiership appearances this season and, while BBC pundit Moore believes the Gers should pay the money required to sign the 28-year-old, he thinks his age may be stopping Clement from making a move.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show (18 January, 6:40) he said: “Anything can happen in the window, but obviously the noise coming out of Hearts is that they want to break the bank to try and keep him.
“I don’t imagine it’s just Rangers and Celtic sniffing about Shankland. I would imagine there will be some English clubs as well.
“Money can be matched or paid more elsewhere, the only question mark I can see really is the fact that he’s 28. A lot of clubs do look at the potential on-sale of the player.”
Question mark
Rangers’ transfer policy in the past has been about buying players that are able to grow and improve during their time at Ibrox, to then be able to sell them for a profit in the future and it is clear that Shankland doesn’t fit that trading model.
However, the Light Blues have a genuine, out-and-out goalscorer under their nose currently and they cannot afford to let that slip away from them, especially at such a crucial stage of the season.
Shankland’s goals, if he were to make the switch to Rangers this month, could well be the difference between the Gers lifting the Scottish Premiership title at the end of the season, or Celtic retaining their crown for yet another year.
Rangers shouldn’t concern themselves too much with Shankland’s age or lack of sell-on value. They should fit the bill for his services and get the value out of him on the pitch, rather than in a couple of transfer windows time.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have been accused of “stubbornness” over the sale of Ridvan Yilmaz
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