Lee McCulloch reckons Rangers could tempt a Scottish Premiership rival into selling their star striker in the January transfer window.
And of course, that man is Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland. Endlessly linked with Rangers, the Scotland forward recently responded to the speculation surrounding his future.
He was typically coy with his answer. But there’s no getting away from the speculation, particularly with next month’s window on the horizon and despite Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay saying only an ‘exceptional’ offer will tempt the Jambos into selling Shankland.
That assessment pours cold water on McCulloch’s previous claim regarding Shankland when insisting Rangers could snare the 28-year-old hitman to Ibrox with a lowball £1m offer to Hearts.
He also suggested just a couple of weeks that the Edinburgh club would only want £2m for him – but the former Rangers skipper appears to have contradicted himself on Friday when speaking to PLZ Soccer.
Lee McCulloch on Lawrence Shankland
Lee McCulloch now subscribes to the view of McKinlay in that Hearts won’t part with Shankland on the cheap. However, he did caveat that point by saying Rangers fan Shanks could be tempted to leave for Govan regardless of the offer put in for him, leaving Hearts in sticky situation.
McCulloch said: “I think the situation is, Hearts are pretty cash rich, there’s a lot of money in the board room. So, they won’t sell him short, but it will all come down to Lawrence Shankland as well.
“That’s why I think if another team, let’s say, puts an offer in and Lawrence head is turned, it might put them in a difficult situation.”
Shankland has a contract at Hearts until 2025 so unless he signs a new deal with the capital outfit soon, the Rangers speculation will continue to rumble on in the media.
Let’s make it clear, there is no evidence to suggest Rangers are concretely interested in signing Shankland, despite Philippe Clement’s wish for a striker in January.
McKinlay confirmed it during Hearts’ recent AGM that Gers have expressed no indication to Hearts that Shankland is on the Ibrox club’s shortlist.
So it’s business as usual for the Jambos and Shankland. But McCulloch has a point, the striker could be tempted to manoeuvre his way out of Steven Naismith’s squad and into Clement’s if any sort of offer is made.
And that could make for an interesting episode between Shankland and his current employers.
