Silva was confirmed to have joined Philippe Clement’s side on loan for the second half of the season on Thursday (28 December) as the Light Blues look to solve the striker problem that has plagued them in the campaign.
But Ferguson has suggested that is only the start of Rangers’ January business and the former Ibrox star still has a hunch that Clement will complete a £2million move to bring Shankland to Ibrox.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show (29 December) he said: “It’s good to see Rangers starting their business early and I would fully expect another two or three players in.
“A lot of people may say it might not happen now but I would be surprised, really surprised, if Rangers still ain’t interested in him. I think they need another forward.
“If he is going to be at the price of around £2m, I think Rangers would be crazy not to look at it. I forgot that Danilo is out for a couple of months with a knee operation.
“Abdallah Sima has been called up for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations. I believe Rangers will bring in another centre forward in and I would be surprised if it won’t be Lawrence Shankland.”
Would be surprised
It does feel as though the links between Rangers and Lawrence Shankland have been rumbling on for months on end already and it would be a surprise to see them come to such a sudden end just because the Gers have signed Silva.
The Portuguese international has plenty of talent at his disposal, but so far in his career, he has been unable to transform that ability into a consistent goal-scoring record. He alone will not solve the Light Blues’ striker problems.
Perhaps the combination of Silva and Shankland would be enough to fire Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title this season, but it remains to be seen whether the Gers finally pull the trigger to bring the Scotsman to Glasgow in January.
Ferguson’s hunch that the Light Blues will still sign another new centre-forward in January seems to be shared by several pundits and journalists at Ibrox. Hopefully, they’re not barking up the wrong tree and Clement will bring Shankland to Glasgow.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has reacted as Brendan Rodgers has confirmed an “enormous blow” ahead of the Old Firm derby
