Rangers: Colin Hendry applauds ‘big coup’ at Ibrox as ‘shock’ deal close
Rangers are pulling off a “big coup” by signing Lawrence Shankland from Hearts, according to Colin Hendry.
The one-time Rangers ace has shared what he has been told on the deal from those in the know at Tynecastle.
Hearts skipper Shankland is due to undergo a medical to become a Rangers player in the next 24 hours or so.
After years of being linked with a move to Glasgow, that deal will finally go through assuming there are no glitches.
And Hendry is impressed by the speed in which Rangers have managed to effectively get a deal in place.
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Lawrence Shankland already tipped for Rangers captaincy
All going well, Shankland could even be announced as a Rangers player as early as Tuesday.
The Scotland international will then jet out for the World Cup with Scotland, where he will hope to play his part.
| Lawrence Shankland | 2025-26 |
| Minutes | 2,495 |
| Games | 29 |
| Goals | 16 |
| xG | 11.92 |
| Goals per 90 | 0.58 |
Shankland’s quality is well known to Rangers fans, as is the fact he has captained Scottish Premiership rivals Hearts for a while now.
And Hendry, speaking to BBC Sport at the launch next month’s Refugee World Cup, said he can see Shankland also wearing the armband at Ibrox.
“He’s more than equipped to lead and and that would be a statement right away,” said Hendry, who also admitted “it’s a shock” to see Rangers snap up Shankland so quickly.
“I would think there’d be a very high possibility of him becoming the captain.
“I think if you were to talk about how well he did at Hearts in that role then I think a lot of people would say that he’s been successful and able to cope with that and everything that’s thrown at you in relation to that position and that situation.”
Shankland signed a new deal with Hearts last summer, around the time he was again linked with Rangers, but that two-year contract is believed to have contained a break clause.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of people there that know more about it and there was a clause that he could leave,” Hendry added.
“It would be Danny Rohl’s first signing of the summer window and I think it would be great for Rangers. He would be a great asset to Rangers if they get the signature.
“To get him signed prior to going to the World Cup would be good as well because everybody’s at ease and then you know it’s finished – you know it’s all tied up. It’s a big, big coup for Rangers.”
Shankland arrival will spell bad news for Rangers pair
Shankland is expected to be one of Danny Rohl’s go-to men once he arrives at Rangers – hopefully this week.
That will spell bad news for some of the attackers already on Rangers’ book, namely Bojan Miovski and Ryan Naderi.
Miovski struggled in his first season at Ibrox and did not do enough to suggest he should start more regularly under Rohl.
Shankland will himself be under pressure to hit the ground running, but on the basis of what we have seen for a while at Hearts, there is not reason why he cannot do exactly that.
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