Journalist Dean Jones claims that Hearts star Lawrence Shankland has “definite transfer potential” in light of his connections to Rangers.
On Saturday, December 23, The Scotsman revealed Hearts manager Steven Naismith’s admission of the player’s transfer request, along with Rangers’ interest in the striker.
Given the current interest in Shankland’s services, Jones continued, signing a new contract at Tynecastle would be a “big call.”
“He is such a good player,” Jones told GIVEMESPORT (24 December). “What I think is so impressive is how he rises to bigger occasions. It’s what you look for in a goal scorer and Hearts fans will be desperate to keep hold of him.
“A striker like this is really hard to find and the problem is it adds fuel to the fire when he seems to be liking posts on social media of Rangers lifting a trophy. Obviously, there’s talk about him signing a new contract, potentially. I think that’d be a really big call at the moment because there is definite transfer potential for him.
“But if he’s happy and playing well, you can see why there might be a temptation to just stay here for a little while longer. The problem for Hearts fans and Hearts themselves is that the more goals he scores, the more inevitable it feels that a transfer will eventually come along.”
Ibrox move incoming?
First things first, Shankland is a Hearts player, and the striker is seemingly enjoying his time in Edinburgh given his feats in the final third this season.
It means that Rangers and manager Philippe Clement must be respectful of the player and his current club, even if they are rivals on the pitch.
But the Glasgow outfit are in need of a new striker given the lack of goals at Ibrox lately, with summer signings Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Sam Lammers not exactly hitting the ground running.
Abdallah Sima has been the standout in terms of recent attacking recruits, but he has largely occupied a position on the left, and more importantly is only on loan from Brighton.
Shankland has been scoring goals for fun this season, with the Scotland international potentially able to do that more regularly if he was playing at Ibrox as opposed to Tynecastle given how Rangers are fighting for the league title.
GET MORE NEWS HERE