Lawrence Shankland to Rangers is gaining major wings after sources told us an proposal has been put in place regarding a potential £3M deal and possible swap which may include Alex Lowry and/or potentially Scott Wright as makeweights.

Shankland himself was unable to distance himself from the speculation yesterday either admitting potential attention from Rangers is ‘flattering’ and while using the usual ‘focused on current club’ piffle, nevertheless his inability to say he doesn’t want to leave or isn’t interested is very telling.

Furthermore, his ‘like’ on Instagram of the club lifting the Viaplay Cup has further fuelled speculation that these rumours are growing major wings and certainly failed to douse the idea he’s not coming.

He said:

“It’s a sign you’re doing well when there’s speculation, that’s what I take from that. It’s always been the case throughout my career, there’s always been speculation flying about. It’s a sign I’m doing my job well and scoring goals. That’s all I focus on, doing my job for Hearts and doing it well.”

No hint of ‘no interest in leaving’, but a very professional and well-worded response which fails to repel Rangers and doesn’t disrespect Hearts either.

As for that deal – Rangers just aren’t going to spend £5M+ on Shankland, we just don’t have that kind of money this upcoming window, so the club is interested in using makeweights to sweeten the pot.

Lowry has done well at Hearts, but he’s not especially understood to be heavily part of Philippe Clement’s plans going forward at Rangers, while Scott Wright is a utility player with energy – but not really a Clement starter.

Either/or could be used in such a deal, but this one is only gathering pace as we near the January window.

Is it finally time for Rangers to sign Shankland?