Pundit moots Hearts ‘alarm bells’ over Lawrence Shankland absence amid Rangers January transfer links
Peter Grant has admitted that Lawrence Shankland’s absence in Hearts’ Scottish Cup clash with Spartans would have set off “alarm bells” amid January transfer links with Rangers.
The 28-year-old, who has been consistently linked with a move to Ibrox this month, missed Steven Naismith’s side’s clash away to Spartans through illness, with some suggesting his absence was in part to force a move away from Tynecastle.
While Grant believes that the Scotland international was genuinely unwell, he did suggest that had he been the manager he would have played Shankland regardless of his condition, unless he requested otherwise.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show (22 January, 5:10) he said: “It’s a bad day to get a cold when it’s a cup tie because that definitely sets alarm bells ringing, especially with somebody like Lawrence who has scored the goals he has done.
“For me, he’s a Hearts player and unless Lawrence said he didn’t want to play, I’d have definitely played him, there’s no doubt in my mind. He wouldn’t be getting away with that because we pay his wages, he’s the captain of the club and if he’s decided that he doesn’t want to stay with Hearts, I’d have still played him.
“That’s why you’ve got to trust the fact that Steven said he was unwell.”
Seems odd
When a player misses a clash while they’re being consistently linked with a move away from a club, it is only natural that pundits and supporters will assume that they are trying to force a move through and such concerns will have been raised at Tynecastle.
Rangers need a new number nine this month and it seems as though Shankland would like to make the switch to Ibrox, but for whatever reason, no progress has been made over a deal three weeks into the January window.
Whether or not Shankland tried to hurry things along by missing Hearts’ clash on Saturday (20 January) is anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t appear to have spurred Rangers into action.
It will be interesting to see whether Shankland is available on Tuesday (23 January) when Naismith’s side welcome Dundee to Tynecastle. Should he be absent again, that would be an excellent indication of just how “ill” he really is.
In other Rangers news, a new “intense pressure” update has emerged over Ridvan Yilmaz’s potential move to Galatasaray
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.