Last month, former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson admitted that he would relish the chance to see if Lyall Cameron could make the step up from Dundee to Ibrox.
So while Barry Ferguson was ‘delighted’ to see Rangers land the Scotland Under-21 international on a pre-contract agreement on deadline day, one suspects his namesake would have reacted in kind as Nils Koppen successfully saw off late interest from Aberdeen.
Lyall Cameron will be Rangers’ first addition of the upcoming summer transfer window.
But with another of the Premiership’s most high-profile homegrown talents also due to be come a free-agent, Derek Ferguson cannot help shake the feeling that Lawrence Shankland will end up at Ibrox too.
While speculation over a potential move to Rangers for the Hearts captain has dried up of late – Koppen opted to secure the more long-term option that was Hamza Igamane last summer – the uncertainty surrounding Cyriel Dessers’ long-term future, plus Danilo’s ongoing injury issues, might just pave the way for a second out-of-contract player to move from one Scottish top-flight outfit to another.
Derek Ferguson launches Lawrence Shankland to Rangers prediction
“I’ve got a sneaky wee feeling [Rangers’ interest in Shankland is not dead],” Ferguson muses. “I like Shankland. Dessers is what he is, you don’t know what you are going to get.
“I would take Shankland in a minute. You’re gonna get the captain of Hearts at Rangers for hee-haw. Absolutely [I’d sign Shankland].”
After claiming both the Golden Boot and the SPFA Player of the Year award last season, the 2024/25 campaign has been a struggle for Shankland.
The former Dundee United hitman has found the target just four times in 28 matches across all competitions. In contrast, he finished the previous campaign with 31 goals to his name.
Former Rangers winger Neil McCann feels Shankland is suffering from a crisis of confidence. Though with Hearts as a whole enduring a difficult campaign, the experienced centre-forward is perhaps merely a symptom of the malaise rather than the cause of it.
“Everybody is just pointing towards [my lack of] goals, which is obviously normal coming off the back of two really successful seasons that I had and scored so many,” Shankland said back in November.
“I’m in competition with myself with the amount of goals I’m scoring, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so good. Personally, I know if I get my game to a level where I can feel that I’m playing well, the goals will eventually come again.
“I’ve been here before in my career, I’ve came through it and I’m sitting here today. I will survive it and going forward hopefully the goals will start flowing again.”
Pundits divided as Kris Boyd tips Shankland to stay at Hearts
The old argument, of course, is that players tend to thrive when surrounded by more gifted teammates. With Nedim Bajrami, Ianis Hagi, James Tavernier and Jefte providing the ammunition – Lyall Cameron also posts some of the division’s best ‘expected assists’ numbers – the barrel of Shankland’s gun will rarely be empty if indeed he does swap Tynecastle for Ibrox.
The Scotland international confirmed in that very same interview a few months back, meanwhile, that he expects to leave Hearts when his deal runs out.
And while some believe Lawrence Shankland guarantee 20 goals to Rangers’ output, Ibrox icon Kris Boyd is less convinced.
“He has had a poor season by his standards,” Boyd argues. “Lawrence would be first to admit that. The team has struggled and the consequences of that is your main striker has struggled.
“He’ll hope to get back fit and score a few goals and I don’t think you can rule out him staying at Hearts.”
