Rangers are holding talks internally about a potential bid for 28-year-old Heart of Midlothian and Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland. (Daily Record), external
Hannibal Mejbri will leave Manchester United within days amid genuine interest in the 21-year-old Tunisia midfielder from Rangers. (The Debrief for Caught Offside), external
Negotiations between Strasbourg and Porto for the transfer of Portuguese winger Gonçalo Borges are in the final stages after the French club returned with a fresh £6.7m offer for the Rangers-linked 23-year-old. (L’Equipe), external
Sevilla midfielder Joan Jordan has not rejected an approach from Rangers as he and his agents had no knowledge of interest from the Scottish Premiership club in the 30-year-old, who has been told he has no future under new head coach García Pimienta. (ABC)
I’m not saying Rangers are in turmoil, but with everything that’s happened with them, Saturday’s Premiership opener could play into Hearts’ hands.
It’s the first game of the season so you’d expect both teams to be at it. I just think Hearts have got to do better. That’s was the biggest let down last season, their record against Rangers, So the biggest thing for me is that the boys who were there last year should be champing at the bit to try and get a result.
The new boys that have just come in will be buzzing – you can’t get a better game really to start the season for the new signings; against one of the Old Firm at Tynecastle. But to be totally honest, I’m still a bit of a Debbie Downer just because I think Lawrence Shankland will end up going. Just with everything that’s been said the last week or so, I don’t know if Hearts have got anybody else in the pipeline and it gives me the fear.
Everyone knows what Lawrence can do in Scotland and I know Lawrence is a Rangers fan. I just think they would be the number one place for him to go. Maybe this is a bit of fear and doubt here, but if he plays well on Saturday, Hearts do well and he scores, I think it would be foregone conclusion that he would go – or at least a bid will come in for him.
Rangers should have signed him in January and they would have won the league. But that is what it is. The here and the now is that he’s got a year left on his contract. For Hearts, they’re stuck in a bad place with it because from the player’s point of view, I understand. He supports Rangers, they’re a massive club and it’s a progression in size of club.
Now if I was anything to do with Hearts, I wouldn’t let him go. That’s not taking the player’s side, which I don’t like doing, but Hearts have been so dependent on him and anybody who thinks we haven’t majorly dependent on him is living in cuckoo land.
I keep banging the drum about it but Christmas time last year, he’d scored 19 goals and the closest to him was three and own goals. If we’d lost him last year, the season wouldn’t have been as rosy and it ended up being.
But to get back to the game, for Rangers and Heats it’s the best game to start with. I wish I was playing. Hopefully Hearts can put on a good performance. The display at Fleetwood wasn’t ideal, but I’ve had pre-seasons where I’ve played s**** in every game then I’ve hit the ground running and scored in the first three or four league games in a row.
So it’s about enjoying the build up this week, being ready and going into the game and putting a marker down.
