The journalist who broke news of Hearts offering Lawrence Shankland a new contract claims he would be “very surprised” if Rangers meet the Jambos’ asking price.
Barry Anderson revealed earlier in the week that Hearts have put an offer on the table for Shankland, 28, which would make the striker the club’s best paid player in a decade.
Handing the hitman an ultimatum for Wednesday evening, the contract offer comes with the Scotland international having 18 months to run on his current deal.
There is a tremendous amount of speculation surrounding potential Rangers interest in the forward but as things stand, there has been no movement.
Rangers links to Lawrence Shankland cooled
Expanding on the situation further on X, Barry Anderson was responding to a fan asking why the deadline had been set for the 31st of January.
Describing the story as a “saga”, Anderson explained that Hearts don’t want the situation with Lawrence Shankland to detract from what’s happening on the park.
The journalist also claimed that he doesn’t see any club stumping up the asking price – which appears to be between £3m and £4m – that Hearts have attached to the hitman.
Whilst the journalist also says “never say never” here, it doesn’t exactly sound like any Rangers transfer interest in Lawrence Shankland will be realised this month.
Hearts striker valuation raises Ibrox doubts
With injuries to strike pair Danilo and Kemar Roofe all but ruling them out of the season, Rangers are believed to be on the hunt for a new striker to boost their squad before Thursday’s 11:30pm deadline.
Cyriel Dessers is a man finding his feet in Glasgow – albeit subject to potential interest from Italy – whilst January loan signing Fabio Silva doesn’t fit the profile of an out-and-out number 9.
It means that Rangers are short in the position as they compete on three fronts and as of yet, interest in Lawrence Shankland hasn’t been denied inside Ibrox.
Couple this with reports that Rangers watched the striker score another stunner v Aberdeen and suddenly fans are furiously updating their feeds hoping for news.
But as Barry Anderson has explained, Hearts’ asking price is a genuine stumbling block and there are doubts that Rangers will stump up ahead of the deadline.
