Lawrence Shankland could have joined Rangers in summer, now he’s determined to beat them
Rangers topped off their summer with the signings of Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski, but they could have gone down a very different road instead.
Kevin Thelwell invested heavily on Chermiti and Miovski after the departures of Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane left Rangers short in the position.
Many have questioned whether Chermiti is worth the fee Rangers have paid, given his lack of experience, but they could have signed a proven striker instead.
Lawrence Shankland was linked with Rangers yet again amid an uncertain contract situation with Hearts, but he stayed, and is now planning to inflict more misery on Russell Martin.
Lawrence Shankland makes Rangers admission
Rangers will face Hearts on Saturday in a must-win game for Martin, and Shankland will line up against the side he could have joined several times in the past.
Shankland was touted as an option for Rangers and West Brom on a free transfer before performing a U-turn and signing a new deal with Hearts.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Shankland revealed that he is determined to beat Rangers, who are winless in the league so far this season.
| Lawrence Shankland’s 2024/25 Scottish Premiership statistics | Total |
| Appearances | 32 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Goal conversion | 9% |
| Big chances created | 14 |
“We want to go there and win, and that’s what we’ll try to do on the day,” Shankland stated.
“People are expecting us to go there and get a result, and you need to enjoy that and thrive on that. I think where we are positivity-wise and the way we’ve started the season, we can go there and enjoy it.
“The important thing for us is being in a good place, and everything about us is positive.
“I think we’d probably look forward to any game that we had at the weekend, and going to Ibrox is a good opportunity.
“If you’re going there in good form, it’s a good place to go; it’s an enjoyable place to play football.”
Rangers missed out on Lawrence Shankland
Had Rangers convinced Shankland to join, they would have signed the Hearts captain on a free transfer, as a proven striker with a physical threat.
The same cannot be said of Chermiti, with the 21-year-old unproven at senior level, and question marks hanging over whether he can adapt to Scottish football from Everton
Rangers parted ways with £8million to sign Chermiti, and this could have been spent in other areas had Shankland joined instead.
Not signing the 30-year-old could end up being damaging for Martin, and if he scores a winner at Ibrox, then he could put the nail in his coffin as Rangers manager.
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