As per reports from Wales Online, Celtic have been linked with a move for Ayr United striker Lawrence Shankland. The 23-year-old Scotsman is in tremendous goalscoring form, and his side are well placed to earn back to back promotions to the top flight. However, in the latest interview, the former Rangers academy product indicated that he still loves the Bears.
He told BBC’s Off the Ball radio program: “I was there when I was a young boy, only for around 10 months.”
Asked if he had ‘unfinished business’ at Ibrox, Shankland said: ‘I hope so. It [Rangers] was my team.”
This should come as a dampener for Celtic as they are currently in desperate need of a striker after Leigh Griffiths decided to take some time off football to deal with his personal matters.
Rangers too would love to have a striker in January to ease the goalscoring burden from Alfredo Morelos, and it is expected that Steven Gerrard could look at add one next month. The early departure of Umar Sadiq is more proof that Rangers need to go after a striker and they can do with someone like Shankland who has scored 28 goals and created seven assists in 25 games so far this season.
It’s clear that the forward is destined for big things and the second division seems a bit too easy for him. In the Scottish League One last season, he helped his side earn promotion by scoring 26 goals in 30 games. As of now, The Honest Men are second in the second division as they trail the leaders Ross County by one point having played a game less.
Championship Outfit Swansea City have also registered an interest in him, but from the recent interview, it seems clear that Rangers might have the edge over others as the striker called the Light Blues ‘his team’. Shankland’s primary asset is his movement in the attacking third as he likes to play on the shoulder of the defenders. His goal scoring exploits suggest that he is calm and composed in front of goal and the 23-year-old also has the knack of being at the right place at the right time.
Ian McCall, United boss earlier indicated (The Scottish Sun) that a bid of £500,000 plus could encourage them to sell the player and we believe the in-form striker is a very attainable target for the Gers. The striker can come in for somewhere around £1m and given that he is still 23, he can improve further.
The Scotsman might not be as prolific in the Premiership as he has been in the lower division but he definitely has the potential to fill in for Morelos when required. After the recent comments, Rangers should look to prise away this Celtic target in January.
