Rangers new boy Lawrence Shankland turns 31 in August, but is playing the best football of his life.
The centre-forward almost led Hearts to Scottish Premiership glory in the recently concluded season, but fell short at the final hurdle.
However, it earned him a dream move to Rangers, after which he linked up with Steve Clarke’s Scotland national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Shankland has taken his Hearts form to the national camp, netting three goals in two warm-up games against Curacao and Bolivia, with his most recent goal coming in the 4-0 win against the latter side on Saturday.
How many league goals will Shankland score for Rangers next season?
He could fire Rangers to a domestic treble!
Tom English wowed as Shankland hits new heights
Shankland opened the scoring just five minutes into Scotland’s 4-0 victory over Bolivia in the United States on Saturday, heading home from an Andy Robertson cross to set his side on their way in the most emphatic of fashions.
Tom English, never one to lavish praise without justification, was moved to write one of the most glowing assessments of a Scottish footballer in recent times, and his words will resonate deeply with the Ibrox faithful.
English’s verdict, published on the BBC following Scotland’s dominant display against Bolivia, was as emphatic as Shankland’s own performances have been in recent months.
The respected journalist highlighted the 30-year-old’s remarkable consistency, pointing out that since September, the striker has not gone more than two consecutive games without scoring.
He now wants Clarke to task Shankland with leading the line in Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti next Sunday, as he feels it would be the “greatest no-brainer in the history of no-brainers”.
Writing on the BBC, he noted: “Ryan Christie and Andy Robertson teed up Lawrence Shankland for a headed opener that set them on their way.
“Since September, he has not gone more than two consecutive games without scoring. Making Shankland a starter against Haiti is the greatest no-brainer in the history of footballing no-brainers.
“He is the striker Scotland has been crying out for for an awfully long time, an instinctive and clever finisher, a guy who can score different types of goals. He has scored 24 in 38 games this season and 10 in 12 since the turn of the year.
“At precisely the right time, Shankland is playing the football of his life.”
Should Lawrence Shankland be named the Rangers captain?
Colin Hendry believes he deserves the armband right away…
What it means for Rangers
For Andrew Cavenagh, English’s assessment reads like a validation of everything Rangers have done this summer.
Landing a striker described as playing “the football of his life” on a free transfer is the kind of recruitment that defines summer transfer windows.
Shankland arrives at Ibrox not as a gamble or a project, but as a proven, elite-level finisher in the form of his career.
If he carries this momentum into the new season, Rangers supporters are in for something very special.
