It felt like Glasgow Rangers were making a real statement earlier this summer, having swooped in to pluck Lawrence Shankland from Tynecastle ahead of the World Cup.
Once on the books at Ibrox as a youngster, Shankland’s return to Glasgow had been a long while in the making, having looked almost certain to make the switch a year earlier.
As it proved, the Gers proceeded to sign three strikers over the next six months, only to end up back at the Scotland star’s door again, pouncing on the chance to lift him from his Hearts contract.
Having since seen Derek McInnes follow him to the Gers, it felt like a match made in heaven. It’s been anything but so far.
Why Shankland woes sum up Rangers’ season so far
Bringing in McInnes and Shankland, following their title charge last season in Edinburgh, appeared to be a case of the Ibrox board sending a message. They wanted to build a team capable of winning now, rather than in a few years time.
The former Jambos skipper had hit 16 Premiership goals across 2025/26, maintaining his remarkably consistent form at this level. He looked to be exactly what this Rangers team was crying out for.
Fast forward just a matter of months and it certainly hasn’t panned out as expected, with even a move that was considered a sure thing having gone sideways so far.
In all, Shankland has scored only once in a Rangers shirt to date, starting from the bench on four occasions already, with McInnes shifting to just one up top.
The decision to install the 31-year-old as captain is now coming under the microscope as a result of his reduced role, epitomising what has been a desperately poor summer for the club so far.
|
Premiership 25/26 – Goals per 90 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
GP90 |
Goals |
|
Chermiti |
0.68 |
15 |
|
Stamatelopoulous |
0.62 |
6 |
|
Shankland |
0.58 |
16 |
|
Nygren |
0.57 |
16 |
|
Maswanhise |
0.53 |
17 |
|
Bokila |
0.50 |
5 |
|
Miovski |
0.48 |
7 |
|
B. Graham |
0.46 |
4 |
|
Bowie |
0.45 |
8 |
|
Dolcek |
0.45 |
5 |
Out of Europe and currently eight points behind rivals Celtic at the summit as things stand, albeit having played a game less, McInnes is giving Russell Martin a run for his money in terms of rotten starts in the Ibrox dugout.
Even his former talisman, Shankland, doesn’t look likely to bail him out of trouble. Can anyone?
The signing Rangers need to make to save their season
The 54-year-old coach may plead for patience after overseeing a squad overhaul this summer, but he can’t argue with the fact that the club just aren’t seeing a return on their investment at present.
Girona’s Kim Min-su has made it 12 signings in total so far for the Glasgow giants, while Portland Timbers’ striker Kevin Kelsy appears set to follow suit sooner rather than later.
Even that might not be the end of things by all accounts, with the search for another right-winger seeing the Light Blues maintain their interest in Brighton and Hove Albion’s Amario Cozier-Duberry.
Intriguingly too, reports in Turkey have indicated that there might also be hope of a reunion with Vaclav Cerny, the Czech winger’s future looking uncertain at Bestikas.
The suggestion is that the two clubs have been holding talks regarding a potential return to Ibrox for the 28-year-old, with the Gers lodging a verbal offer of around €8m (£7m).
Bestikas, for their part, are asking for closer to €10m (£9m), albeit with the Super Lig outfit already lining up a replacement in the form of Benfica’s Dodi Lukebakio.
Signing Shankland may have appeared a real coup at the time, but this deal would take the cake, not least considering Cerny has already been there and done it in a Rangers shirt.
One of a string of loan signings to have sparkled at Ibrox, the fleet-footed winger was immense in a dismal 2024/25 campaign, scoring and assisting 27 goals in 52 games in all competitions.
On loan from Wolfsburg at the time, Cerny particularly excelled in Europe for the Old Firm side, scoring and assisting eight goals in just 12 Europa League outings that season. Shankland, by contrast, hasn’t looked up to scratch on the continent, as recent outings have shown.
That’s not to say Cerny wasn’t also a hit in the Premiership, scoring 12 and assisting a further four, while boasting a stellar average of 2.5 key passes and 1.4 successful dribbles per game.
Be it as a goalscorer or provider, he is a man who can do it all, someone to win a game on his own if required.
Perhaps Shankland was that man back at Tynecastle, but it hasn’t been seen so far at Ibrox, with the addition of Cerny likely to be what is needed if this season is to properly ignite moving forward.
He might well be the talismanic figure Rangers are waiting for.