5 reasons why Lawrence Shankland should STAY at Hearts amid Rangers transfer speculation.
Much of the narrative has assumed the 28-year-old would like to move on
Euro 2024
If Shankland wants to be on the plane to Germany this summer, and he undoubtedly will, he could do his chances harm by moving on.
Should he stay at Hearts and carry on his current form, or even if he drops off a little bit, you’d have to think he has an excellent chance of being in Steve Clarke’s squad alongside Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes.
Go on and possibly sit on the bench at Ibrox or somewhere else and those chances would be severely hampered.
The tournament itself is a platform and should he repeat the feat of that last minute goal in Georgia, he could put himself on the radar of further clubs.
There is a lot of focus on Euro 2024 but the Scotland team is in a great place right now and looks set to continue to thrive.
Any player who can will want to be a part of that and he can keep himself in contention for the national team for the rest of his career by ensuring he keeps playing regular football.
Legendary status
Shankland is already being mentioned in the same breath as John Robertson having become the first Hearts striker to score 20 goals in a season since the club legend.
Being held in the exact same regard as the ‘Hammer of the Hibs’ is still some way off though and the 28-year-old would need to stay on for a few more years to do that.
Robbo scored almost 300 goals for the Jambos and is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. He also has an incredible 27 goals against rivals Hibs.
Shanks would find it hard to get close to that given the late stage of his career he is in, but he could propel himself to legendary status by continuing his scoring rate for years to come and securing silverware.
Only then could be held in the same esteem as the likes of Robertson and Rudi Skacel.
Settled home
Throughout his career, the marksman has relocated frequently and never quite settled down.
After two successful seasons at Ayr United, the same amount of time at Dundee United, and just one season at Beerschot, he had a loan period with Aberdeen that was full of setbacks.
After a season and a half at Tynecastle, a move now would mean he has never stayed longer than two years at any one club.
He’s accomplished a lot at his previous clubs, but he seems to have found a location where he can grow and be happy, so if he’s been itching for a permanent residence, this could be it.
As always, money talks and it’s entirely possible he’ll be offered life-changing cash somewhere which would change things.
But Hearts seem prepared to push the boat out and give him a significant boost to his pay packet as it is, and he’d be getting that in a place he knows he’s loved and truly wanted.
Do Rangers even have the ability to sign him in January?
Let’s for one minute humour the Rangers-minded pundits and assume the man-of-the-moment does want the move along the M8. Would Rangers be able to complete a transfer at the moment?
Hearts aim to sell for more than £5 million this month, and it’s believed that the Light Blues have limited transfer cash left over from their summer spending binge, as seen by the fact that their single acquisition to date has been a loan.
If that’s what he really wants, it might not happen in this window, so he might as well simply wait until next summer, when he can go on for free and his price might drop with a year left on his contract, or until the summer after that.
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