Back in January, all the talk was about Rangers moving for Hearts talisman Lawrence Shankland.
With injuries devastating the Ibrox forward line and the jury firmly out on the likes of Cyriel Dessers, a new number 9 was top of the Rangers support’s transfer wish list.
And yet, as the transfer window ticked down at Ibrox, a move for a new striker continued to prove elusive.
It’s something which many believe has cost the club in the second half of the season with a lack of ruthlessness in the final third devastating Rangers at times this campaign.
The results against Motherwell and Celtic at Ibrox, and Ross County and Dundee away, have cost the club big and one wonders if it might’ve been different with a proper hitman leading from the front.
Now, Lawrence Shankland has just been crowned the PFA Scotland Player of the Year in a moment which brings into greater focus Rangers’ shortcomings in the transfer window.
Rangers to count £30m cost of Shankland failure?
Lawrence Shankland overcame two Rangers stars in Jack Butland and James Tavernier to be crowned the PFA Scotland Player of the Year.
The Hearts striker – who also pipped Celtic’s Matt O’Riley – has been on inspired form all season long with his 28 goals firmly establishing the Tynecastle club as Scottish football’s third force.
As the debate rumbles on about the striker’s future – Shankland is about to enter the final year of his contract at Hearts – this is a moment to savour for the striker.
Having blown away Scottish footballing defences with Ayr United and Dundee United, a stint with Belgian side Beerschot has had a strong impact on Shanks who has been one of the best strikers in Scottish football over the last two seasons.
A boyhood bluenose, there’s a sentiment that the 28-year-old looks increasingly ready to take the step up to Ibrox but much of it will depend on the finances involved.
But with an additional £30m Champions League bounty on the line this season, should Rangers have stumped up to sign this season’s Player of the Year in January?
Whilst a Lawrence Shankland move might be cheaper this summer, the cost of Rangers’ failure to plunge earlier could be revealed come the end of the campaign.
Rangers strikers may have blown title chance
Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers has been much-maligned this season, and not without justification.
The Belgian-born Nigerian striker might’ve bagged over 20 goals since a £4.5m move from Cremonese, but big misses in big moments have dented his fluctuating reputation at Ibrox.
Brazilian striker Danilo – a £6m signing from Feyenoord – has also saw his season devastated by injury.
Throw the perennially injured Kemar Roofe into the mix and suddenly Rangers’ forward options are limited.
Fabio Silva was signed in January, and the Portuguese’s antics have quickly made himself public enemy number one in Scottish football, whilst Abdallah Sima has barely kicked a ball since January.
It’s a monumental failure of forward planning and the situation with Lawrence Shankland has brought the recruitment/medical disaster class into firm focus.
This was one of the most important titles in decades – and the final time a Scottish team will automatically qualify for the Champions League – and the £5m January investment in Lawrence Shankland would’ve certainly made a difference.
Goal are football’s greatest currency and no matter if you’re trading in Nigeria, Brazil, or Bonnie Scotland, they’re a priceless commodity which Rangers have found hard to find in 2024.
What’s more, a failure to invest at the optimum moment might prove more costly than any transfer fee.
