Have Rangers just signed Scotland’s World Cup number nine?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Lawrence Shankland has scored four times in limited Scotland game timeByAndy BurkeBBC Sport Scotland Senior ReporterPublished2 hours agoRangers’ capture of Heart of Midlothian captain Lawrence Shankland could prove to be the most significant move of the summer transfer window, but have the Ibrox club also signed the man who will be leading the forward line for Scotland at this summer’s World Cup?
Scotland have long struggled to produce prolific strikers at international level and yet the man who bagged 72 league goals for Hearts has found himself no more than a bit-part player for the national team under Steve Clarke.
After another stellar season in which his 21 goals spearheaded Hearts to a Scottish Premiership title challenge only to be pipped in a final day shootout with Celtic, there is growing evidence that Shankland should be the man tasked with leading the Scotland attack when they kick off their World Cup campaign against Haiti on 14 June.
Steven Naismith has worked with Shankland during his spell as Hearts’ head coach and now as Scotland assistant, and thinks Shankland “is at the best he’s ever been at now at 30-years-old”.
