‘He can come in’: John Hartson backs Celtic to sign Scotland international for ‘£2m’.
John Hartson has backed Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic to secure the transfer of in-demand Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland in January.
The 28-year-old has got the attention of many across Scotland in recent weeks after scoring in back-to-back games against Rangers and Celtic.
Added to that, the Scotland international netted 21 goals in 32 Premiership games last term (transfermarkt), which has got people talking about the player possibly making a move in the winter – Chris Sutton sent a January transfer message to the club.
Celtic don’t need someone to come in and start because Kyogo Furuhashi is the best in the country and no one is going to dethrone him from his starting spot.
But Hartson thinks someone like Lawrence Shankland can come in and be that ‘threat’ for the Bhoys and cost the club ‘£2 million’ in transfer fees, as he told Go Radio.
The recent goalless draw at Hibs, and Brendan Rodgers’ decision not to rotate his team for that game, was an interesting one, is it a message that he doesn’t trust those behind the starters? Celtic have been tipped to sign Aberdeen’s, Bojan Miovski.
Either way, Hartson is certain that a striker needs to come in when the winter transfer window re-opens.
Shankland to Celtic
“I think they will sign a striker in January, no doubt,” said Hartson. “Shankland is another one. He gets goals. Scored a great goal against Celtic a couple of weeks ago.
“Then he goes and gets another great header at the weekend. He has got an array of goals about him. I wouldn’t want to put a fee on his head. He’s a goalscorer. He is somebody who can come in and be that threat for you. I don’t think you go in and play ahead of Kyogo. It’s up to him to work in and around Kyogo when he gets the opportunity.
“I don’t think he will cost a fortune. Hearts would probably get more from him if he moved down south – probably £1.5 (and £2 million) around that mark (for Celtic).”
Celtic January transfer window
As Oh Hyeon-gyu is finding out, many of his appearances are going to come from the bench, which in turn, is going to result in him scoring very little, or in the case of this season, yet to get off the mark.
Fighting off those little scraps is what Shankland will have to contend with if he decides to swap Tynecastle for Parkhead.
The question is. Would he do a better job than Oh? It’s worth a punt because, as Shankland has proven throughout the Scottish Leagues, he has goals in him.
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