Lawrence Shankland was back in action for Hearts after a Scottish Cup absence sent rumours about a switch to Rangers swirling.
The Scotland international striker, 28, has been routinely mentioned alongside a move to Ibrox this winter but so far the discussion has been very much paper-talk with nothing concrete.
Missing the weekend’s 2-1 win over Spartans, Lawrence Shankland recovered from a mystery illness to be fit in time to face Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.
And once again the Rangers-linked hitman was at the centre of things, missing a penalty as the Jambos bounced back from 2-0 down to eventually win the match 3-2.
Lawrence Shankland returns for Hearts
Goals from Jordan McGhee and Lyall Cameron had Dundee dreaming of a famous victory in Edinburgh as they went into the interval 2-0 up.
But Hearts staged a spirited second half comeback after spurning a host of good opportunities in the first period.
Calem Nieuwenhof pulled one back just over ten minutes after the restart before Rangers-linked Lawrence Shankland blew the chance to equalise after being brought down in the box.
Forcing a good save from Dundee keeper Trevor Carson, it’s the third spot kick the striker has missed in less than a month.
Shankland’s blushes would however be spared by a combination of Dexter Lembikisa and Yutaro Oda, whose late goals rescued three points for the Midlothian side.
The result means Hearts are now eight points clear of Kilmarnock in third place in the Scottish Premiership and still on course for a European finish this season.
Rangers boss fails to rule out striker transfer
The return of Lawrence Shankland will do little to quell the chat surrounding Rangers as the Ibrox side continue their hunt for transfer reinforcements.
Rangers have already added Wolves loanee Fabio Silva to their squad this January, with midfielder Mohamed Diomande expected to follow imminently.
Philippe Clement was asked about a potential move for another striker in the January window ahead of the Gers’ clash with Hibs, and the Belgian manager certainly suggested the club are open to a deal.
“I’m not speaking about positions or what we want,” said Clement. “There are also strikers in the building.
“Fabio (Silva) showed already good things, Cyriel (Dessers) if you’re going to look at the statistics that he has for the moment he’s in a good way also.
“So we will see what targets we will take in the transfer market and what the possibilities are.”
Lawrence Shankland has 18 goals for Hearts this season and has been routinely linked to Rangers throughout his career.
Hearts manager Steven Naismith has been talking about the situation over the weekend, offering the striker some advice about his own switch to Rangers in 2007.
