Glasgow Rangers appointed Philippe Clement on the weekend and the Ibrox side will be hoping this can kickstart their season which has been rather underwhelming thus far.
Michael Beale won only eight of the opening 14 games of the season, slipping to woeful defeats to Kilmarnock, Celtic and Aberdeen in the Premiership while dropping out of the Champions League after a 7-3 aggregate demolition at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.
The loss to the Dons was the final straw for the Ibrox hierarchy, and he was sacked within hours of the defeat, with the Gers having to go through the managerial hiring process yet again.
Indeed, Clement is their third permanent manager since Steven Gerrard departed for Aston Villa in November 2021 and the club have won just one Scottish Cup since then.
Much will be made of whether Clement can bring the best out of this squad, in particular the summer signings. Big money was spent on the likes of Danilo, Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers, but the Gers have yet to see a decent return on their investment.
Dessers, in particular, has been poor and considering Beale shelled out £4.5m to sign him from Serie A side Cremonese, the supporters were clearly expecting more from the striker.
How has Cyriel Dessers performed for Rangers this season?
With Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent leaving upon the expiration of their contracts at the end of last season, Beale’s main focus was to replace these two crowd favourites.
The Ibrox side were linked with numerous names throughout the summer, but it soon became apparent that Dessers was one of Beale’s main targets.
The 28-year-old has scored 111 goals during his club career and while far from prolific across every season, it looked as though he would add 10–15 goals a term for the Light Blues, yet he has failed to showcase his true talents at the club so far.
Indeed, for his Premiership displays during 2023/24, Dessers ranks in a lowly ninth spot among his teammates for goals and assists (one) while also finishing first for big chances missed (six) and eighth for successful dribbles per game (0.6), indicating that he has failed to take chances which have been presented to him and has yet to have a decent impact on the team.
Overall, the Nigerian international has made 15 appearances across all competitions for the Gers yet has found the back of the net on just three occasions, a woeful return.
With the Light Blues linked to a plethora of attacking talents during the summer window, could Clement potentially reignite a move for one during the January transfer window?
Lawrence Shankland was linked with a potential move, yet nothing materialised, but the Belgian must make another Gers approach for the Scot.
Where Rangers interested in Lawrence Shankland?
It was back in June when talk of Shankland to Rangers resurfaced as Beale aimed to replace Morelos, who was due to leave.
It wasn’t the first time a swoop for the Hearts' striker was touted however as former Gers captain Barry Ferguson claimed back in January that the club would be keeping an eye on Shankland ahead of making a potential move for the player, yet Beale made only two signings during the winter window.
Having cost Hearts just £500k ahead of the 2022/23 season, his excellent form during his maiden campaign meant Steven Naismith was valuing the striker around the £3m-£4m mark when clubs began to circle just a few months ago.
Although maybe not the marquee name many of the Ibrox faithful expect, there is no doubt Shankland would be a reliable source for goals throughout a season and Clement could do a lot worse than lure him to Glasgow.
How many goals has Lawrence Shankland scored for Hearts?
The 28-year-old is a well-known Rangers fan and having enjoyed wonderful stints at Ayr United and Dundee United – scoring 101 goals for both clubs combined – and this led to a move to Belgian side Beerschot in 2021.
Belgium wasn’t a happy hunting ground for the striker however, as he scored just five goals for the club, and it was the Tynecastle side who offered him a reprieve in Scotland.
Shankland has certainly repaid the club during his spell in Edinburgh so far, scoring 28 goals throughout the whole of the 2022/23 season as they finished fourth in the Premiership while also playing group-stage European football for the first time since the 2004/05 season.
74
40
73
61
61
33
55
14
43
14
28
5
18
4
17
0
14
7
Journalist Joel Sked lauded the player for his displays, saying: “Lawrence Shankland has been different class for Hearts. So much more to his game than goals.
“His ability to drop in, act as that focal point and link player, his awareness and the way he creates space for himself. All so good and so vital.”
He has continued this rich vein of form into the current campaign, already netting five goals across 14 appearances and despite going through a lull recently, his positive performances led to him being called back up to the Scotland national side for the tie against England in September.
He didn’t come off the bench, but it is clear his displays for Hearts are impressing the Scotland manager, Steve Clarke.
Having scored five times, he has outscored Dessers by two so far this season and the Scot has missed fewer big chances (two to six) than the Rangers player, while averaging more key passes per game (1.5 to 1.1) and more shots per game (three to 2.3) and this indicates that he could be a solid upgrade on the Gers misfiring marksman.
Clement will have his own transfer targets of course and these should be explored, especially if they can add some quality to the squad.
Returning to players who didn’t move to the club, however, could also be a solid strategy as Shankland has showcased that he can score often in Scotland and this is the type of player the Belgian will require going forward.
He could cost a decent transfer fee, but having scored 33 goals for Hearts across just 61 matches, there is no doubt that he would be worth the money.
