Rangers in advanced talks to sign Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland
Rangers were closing in on Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland, with a two-year deal and option on the table before Scotland’s World Cup call-up.
Rangers were in advanced talks to sign Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland, with discussions moving toward an initial two-year contract and an option to extend. The timing matters as much as the player: Rangers wanted the 30-year-old in place before he left with Scotland for the World Cup, a sign that the club is pushing to finish its rebuild with immediate answers rather than long-term patience.
Shankland would arrive as more than a name from another Scottish side. He scored 16 Scottish Premiership goals last season and 20 in all competitions, numbers that underline why Rangers see him as a practical fix to a clear scoring need. For a team rebuilding its squad, the pursuit points to spending priorities shaped by urgency, not vanity. Rangers are not chasing a development project here; they are targeting a proven forward who knows the league, knows the pressure, and has already delivered in Glasgow.
The move would also carry a symbolic edge. Shankland grew up supporting Rangers, which makes the deal feel local and emotionally loaded, but the football case is stronger than the sentiment. He signed a new three-year deal with Hearts last summer after his previous contract expired, yet his future has remained a recurring issue because of his production and his profile. By June 2025, he had scored 68 goals in 137 appearances for Heart of Midlothian, a return that explains why any deal would be treated as major business on both sides.
Derek McInnes made clear in June 2025 that staying at Tynecastle was the “best option” for Shankland, while also admitting a decision needed to be made “sooner rather than later.” Hearts have had plenty of reason to value him. Shankland joined in the summer of 2022 after prolific spells at Ayr United and Dundee United, and he remained central to Hearts’ title push this season.
He also did damage against Rangers directly. On 4 May 2026, he scored the winner in Hearts’ 2-1 home victory at Tynecastle Park, a result that moved Hearts three points clear at the top of the Premiership. In September 2025, he scored both goals in Hearts’ 2-0 win at Ibrox, the kind of performance that would only sharpen Rangers’ sense that they know exactly what he can bring. If the transfer is completed, Rangers will be betting that a familiar Scottish scorer can help solve an immediate problem, while Hearts would lose their captain and leading forward at a decisive point in the season.
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