Prior to the January window, Philippe Clement received counsel from the Record Sport columnist.
In the summer, Rangers passed on a significant signing opportunity. When they had a striker right under their nose who was just as brilliant, they spent about £10 million on him.
Lawrence Shankland, in my opinion, ought to have arrived at Ibrox much earlier. However, they made the expensive decision to spend it on Sam Lammers, Danilo, and Cyriel Dessers six months ago. In retrospect, it appears that was a mistake in terms of hiring. Regrettably for the club’s finance department, fixing that in January could potentially prove to be highly costly. Shankland still has a year left on his Tynecastle deal, so Hearts can demand a higher price from Rangers to avoid making a move for him.
How much will it cost to acquire him? Now, that is the main problem. However, it’s worthwhile to inquire if Shanks is a player Philippe Clement thinks may make a difference in a title run-in. And they ought to do it, even if it does cost about £3 million. because the Rangers would make a fantastic purchase in him. Going for Shankland would remind me of Kris Boyd’s transfer from Kilmarnock to Ibrox, despite the fact that they are two very different kinds of players.
After doing a lot of analysis on Lawrence lately, I believe he has all the qualities you could look for in a center-forward. He has a great game all around.
Actually, from what I can see at Aberdeen right now, both Shankland and Bojan Miovski are superior to everything that is playing for either Old Firm team. Kyogo Furuhashi has been a great fit for Celtic’s style of play over the past two years in terms of mobility, menace, and goals. However, he hasn’t quite been successful with it at Parkhead this season.
In addition to being missing from the top of the scoring statistics, he is no longer a member of Brendan Rodgers’ squad. Shankland and Miovski have been the league’s top two strikers thus far.
Furthermore, it ought to have been obvious for Rangers to sign the Hearts player in the summer. He’s on pace to surpass his season-long total of 28 goals. His skills have greatly improved, and his link-up play is now excellent.
His upper body strength and balance are excellent. But he also seems to be at peace with himself. Even while he’s fending off opponents, he maintains his composure to bring the ball down and look around.
I would rank him higher in the Premiership than anyone else in terms of awareness. Furthermore, his track record validates his objectives. Everywhere he has gone, he has scored.
He is scoring for the Jambos in Europe and against the Old Firm. Even during his latest sniff for Scotland in Georgia, the hitman came up with a fantastic goal for his country.
Thus, he is capable of doing it all. His sole shortcoming is his blistering pace. However, which striker in the top flight of Scotland possesses that?
Big Boydy didn’t, for sure. However, if Rangers signed Shankland, it would be like the first time they signed my former attack partner back in 2006.
It is said that a player’s employment with a team other than Rangers and Celtic may not necessarily follow them to Glasgow. And I understand that. However, instinct is everything when discussing goal scorers from the past like Boyd, Shankland, or Ally McCoist.
And no matter where you are, that is constant. It all comes down to being ruthless and knowing your place on the field. That holds true for Shankland. If you have the proper mindset and don’t give up when your big break arrives, you can succeed as a proven scorer.
Big Boydy is one of the best. That explains why he scored more than 100 goals for the Rangers and is the league’s all-time top scorer. That explains why he continued to find the back of the goal on his second and third visits to Killie. Scoring goals is one of the THINGS that ARE transferable.
Shankland depends on his knack at finishing plays and his football acumen. Boydy turned that into a career. Lawrence would be playing with better players and would have more opportunities at Ibrox. That cannot be disputed. He has already demonstrated his ability to seize opportunities should they arise in Europe. And he can score against Celtic, as he demonstrated for Hearts last weekend at Parkhead. For Rangers, he so meets all the criteria. I’m shocked that they didn’t pursue him in the summer for this reason.
Shankland is one of the obvious additions that the Old Firm should have made sooner rather than later. Since he is already 28 years old, this may be his last chance to transfer to a large club.
Rangers have previously looked farther afield, which is acceptable. However, there is a man close to the M8 who will promise them at least 25 goals per season.
While not everyone joins the Old Firm and succeeds right away, I think Shanks can. He enjoys scoring goals and is at ease in the league. At Ibrox, that would remain the same. He’ll probably score even more goals. Furthermore, he could be the one who pushes Clement’s club over the finish line in this prospective final match.
