Lawrence Shankland to Rangers transfer problem shared after January
Stephen McGowan has shared that the problem with the clamour for Rangers to sign Lawrence Shankland from Hearts in January was that the Ibrox club never actually enquired.
The Daily Mail journalist insisted that plenty of ex-pros had tipped the move, to an extent that the rumours were impossible to get away from, and the story only grew based on assumptions.
With Rangers targeting a new striker in January, and Shankland the current SPFL top scorer, and a boyhood Rangers fan, the move made plenty of sense, but the narrative got away from the truth.
Writing in his column for the Scottish Daily Mail [3 February, page 109], McGowan shared: “For weeks it was difficult to turn on a TV or radio without ex-pros telling the world why the Scotland striker should move to Ibrox.
“The problem was that Rangers never actually lodged an enquiry for the Hearts captain, never mind a bid. The story grew arms and legs based on assumption and supposition.”
Shankland rumours made by the media?
At the end of the transfer window, when it became clear no new striker would come through the door following the arrival of Fabio Silva at the start of the transfer window, it finally dawned upon people that Shankland would remain at Hearts – at least for this season.
There had been so much talk about a move to Ibrox that it almost felt inevitable that his future rested in Glasgow, but as McGowan cleared up, that talk never actually came from Ibrox.
Varying reports had emerged in the media throughout the window, but looking back it appears to have been pundits driving the talk rather than concrete information, with the likes of Barry Ferguson pleading for the deal to happen.
Even following the window’s end, Ferguson spoke out again to say he understands why Rangers fans are disappointed that Shankland didn’t arrive, but again there appears to have been no concrete interest at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has shared a new title verdict after Celtic drew at Aberdeen.
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