Losing their captain and principal scorer is bad enough but losing him for little or no money might be deemed insult added to injury. Right now, the phrases being used are ‘undisclosed fee’ and ‘Rangers paid the required amount’.
Shankland has a prolific record for Hearts against Rangers, scoring both in a 2-0 win at Ibrox in September, getting what turned out to be the winner against them in December and in May, both times at Tynecastle.
He scored against Rangers in a 3-3 draw in May, 2024 and scored in a 3-1 loss and a 2-1 loss in November and October 2023. He’s the most prolific scorer Hearts have had since the great John Robertson.
Shankland netted 20 goals for Derek McInnes’ team in their near-glory season, part of which he missed through injury. He’s pushing hard to start for Scotland against Haiti in the opening game of the World Cup.
For McInnes, this will come as a bitter blow. Shankland and Hearts were at a bit of a stand-off at the end of season 2024-25, a long-running dispute over salary between the club and the player’s representatives threatening to see an end of him at Tynecastle.
When McInnes was appointed manager, one of the main items on his list was to keep Shankland. He was insistent he needed the striker and a deal was done. McInnes and Shankland have worked excellently together. Those days would appear to be over. Shankland to Rangers will take a lot of beating as the signing of the summer.