Craig Moore has once again urged Rangers to sign Lawrence Shankland in the January transfer window and has compared the forward’s ability to Ally McCoist.
Philippe Clement lifted his first piece of silverware since arriving at Ibrox when the Light Blues beat Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden Park, but the Belgian is still lacking a consistent 20-goal-a-season forward in his side.
Shankland has been the main name linked with making the switch to Ibrox this January and Moore believes that he would solve Rangers’ goal-scoring problem with ease, suggesting that the 28-year-old is as ruthless in front of goal as McCoist was.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show (18 December, 20:10) he said: “To win a title, you need three or four strikers and you can never have enough goals within a team and Shankland is an out-and-out goalscorer.
“Danilo I know has picked up the injury but in the 1-0 result against Hearts, there were a couple of chances where he wanted to take the extra touch.
“I was just thinking back to the days of Ally McCoist, an out-and-out goal scorer, you don’t need that extra touch. If you’re a goalscorer, you’re a goalscorer then bang and Shankland has got that.
“Shankland to be fair at Hearts can be starved of opportunities, but he’ll get one chance in a match and score.”
Big statement
Moore’s assessment that Rangers are lacking a forward with that ruthlessness in front of goal that somebody like McCoist possessed during his time at Ibrox is certainly correct, as neither Danilo nor Cyriel Dessers look like they’ll be prolific centre-forwards.
Too often both strikers take an extra touch when it is not required and spurn a valuable chance or overrun the ball and allow themselves to get closed down. To score more than 20 goals a season, you have to take most of the chances that come your way.
That is what makes Shankland such an attractive prospect for the Light Blues. The Hearts forward has been working off scraps for parts of this season but has still managed to score eight goals in 17 appearances. He has that cutting edge in front of goal that can make the difference in a title race.
It would be disappointing to see Rangers miss out on such a good centre-forward that is literally under their nose at Tynecastle. To already be comparing him to McCoist might be a step too far, but Shankland does appear to be the solution to Clement’s problems this January
