Sport
Ferguson shares ‘Disappointed’ Shankland admission in Rangers January transfer verdict
Barry Ferguson has admitted that he understands why Rangers fans are “disappointed” they didn’t sign Lawrence Shankland but has urged them to trust Philippe Clement’s judgement.
The Hearts centre-forward was continuously linked with a move to Ibrox in the January window, with some suggesting that a deal was there to be struck if the Light Blues matched the asking price at Tynecastle.
Shankland himself was said to be keen on the move this month and Ferguson believes he would have been a perfect solution to Rangers’ striker problem even if he has complete faith in Clement’s final decision.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show (2 February, 10:35) he said: “Personally, I thought he would have done an excellent job at Rangers. It’s interesting to hear the two Celtic supporters saying the same thing about him.
“For £3million at 28, resale value. I’m with the last caller, I don’t really buy into all of that. I think he’s good enough at this moment in time to score goals for Rangers or Celtic at this time, so I can see why Rangers fans are disappointed that they didn’t go and get him.
“But listen, the manager has made the decision and you’ve got to trust him with the job that he’s done since he came through the door.”
Rangers right to be disappointed
As Ferguson suggested, Rangers supporters have to have trust in Clement’s judgement, but it does feel as though the Belgian may have left himself slightly short of striking options for the remainder of the campaign.
Shankland would have not only provided a consistent source of goals at Ibrox, but he would have also represented another option to bolster a frontline that is currently reliant on the form and fitness of Cyriel Dessers with everybody else sidelined.
Hopefully, Fabio Silva will be able to hit the ground running and score the goals to fire the Gers to the Premiership title, but his record throughout his short career so far won’t fill supporters with too much confidence.
Whether or not Rangers are made to regret their transfer calls this month remains to be seen but at the moment it feels like there is a feeling of what could have been surrounding the entirety of the Ibrox fanbase.
