Philippe Clement will be hoping for the sort of January transfer window that allows Rangers to improve for once.
One of the biggest issues all season has been a shortage of goals due to a lack of depth in the squad in the forward areas and a lack of quality.
Linked for years, there seems to be an inevitability that Rangers will sign Lawrence Shankland on a pre-contract agreement from Hearts, however, all might not be as it seems.
Joe Savage explains Rangers interest in Lawrence Shankland
Speaking on the BBC’s Off the Ball programme, former Hearts sporting director Joe Savage has explained how far Rangers went along the road to signing Shankland:
“I got battered for that. I said Rangers couldn’t afford Lawrence Shankland and I got absolutely battered for it,” said Savage in response to remarks he made last January.
“But it was the last day of the window and nobody was signing Shanks at that time because we weren’t going to sell him. There was no approach. No conversation whatsoever.
“In my time at Hearts we never got approached by Rangers to sign Lawrence Shankland.”
Should Rangers sign Shankland?
Despite scoring only one goal all season, and his missed penalty against Cercle Brugge in the Europa Conference League, signing Shankland on a pre-contract agreement still makes sense.
He’s a leader, is vastly experienced in the SPFL, is homegrown and is something that the current squad lacks, a Rangers fan.
Modern football has lost a lot of qualities from the pre-Champions League money days, but a professional footballer playing for the club they support still means something.
Shankland wouldn’t be first choice if he did sign, but if Cyriel Dessers becomes third choice following Hamza Igamane’s breakthrough against Nice, why would he want to stay?
On a Bosman, signing Shankland would allow Rangers to sell Dessers without worrying about getting every penny back – a scenario that is growing less likely and harder by the week.
