Charlie Mulgrew claims Rangers failed to sign striker who would score 30 goals per season
Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew has delivered a verdict on Rangers’ links to Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland.
Shankland looked like he was ready to leave Hearts at the end of last season, and that fuelled speculation over his move to Ibrox.
However, the 30-year-old ended up staying put at the SPFL league leaders and he has bagged 11 goals in 21 league games this season.
Rangers explored the opportunity to sign Shankland, but the deal never materialised, and due to the seeming lack of suitable options, the Scotland international signed a new deal at Tynecastle.
Charlie Mulgrew believes Rangers and Celtic missed the trick on a 30-goal-a-season striker
Mulgrew does not think that Hearts would be in the position they are in without having Shankland leading the line.
After 27 games, they find themselves two points clear of Rangers, who have played the same number of matches, and three points clear of Celtic, who have a game in hand.
In his view, had either of the Old Firm sides signed him, he would have scored 25-30 goals for them.
He believes that they would also be clear of the other two sides in the current title race, but they missed the trick by not signing him.
Mulgrew told the Breakdown: “Celtic, Rangers never took him.
“Honest to god. Can you imagine Rangers or Celtic had signed him, they’d have been clear.
“The main thing they’ve both been missing is having a number nine exactly like Shankland.
“I think Shank scores 25-30 goals for either Rangers or Celtic. And that’s maybe not even having a successful season.”
Will Danny Rohl regret Rangers’ decision not to sign Shankland?
Rohl inherited the side mid-season and had no say over the club spending £8m on Youssef Chermiti.
Had he been there in the summer, things could have turned out differently, but he has shown faith in the former Everton striker, who scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 win over Hearts.
The board also backed him with the signing of Ryan Naderi ahead of time, and if that pays off as well, there is little reason to regret the failure to sign Shankland.
At 30, he offers very little long-term upside either, while Chermiti and Naderi are in their early 20s while Bojan Miovski is still four years younger than the Hearts forward.
