NafisaHearts sporting director Graeme Jones has effectively admitted that allowing Lawrence Shankland to leave for Rangers this summer was a risk the club knowingly accepted when they handed the striker a special contract clause last year.
The Scotland international completed his long-awaited move to Ibrox after Rangers took advantage of a release mechanism that allowed him to walk away despite signing what appeared to be a long-term deal at Tynecastle only 12 months earlier.
For Rangers supporters, the transfer was viewed as a major statement of intent. Danny Rohl has been tasked with building a side capable of ending Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football, and securing one of the Premiership’s most proven goalscorers was seen as a huge step in that direction.
However, for Hearts fans, the move was a bitter pill to swallow.
Shankland was not only the club captain but also one of their most influential players during a remarkable campaign that almost delivered a historic title success. His goals, leadership and experience played a massive role as Hearts pushed Celtic all the way before eventually falling short.
Now, Hearts sporting director Graeme Jones has openly acknowledged why the club found themselves in this position.
According to Jones, the only way Hearts could persuade Shankland to remain at Tynecastle last summer was by agreeing to a contract that contained an exit route after one season.
That decision has now allowed Rangers to swoop in and bring the striker to Ibrox without paying a transfer fee.
“The situation with Lawrence a year ago was actually quite simple. We as a club had to make a calculation on whether we wanted to keep Lawrence or not and the only way in which we could keep him was with the deal that was agreed in the end,” Jones said.
Jones explained that Hearts knew the danger from the beginning. If Shankland enjoyed a successful season and the team performed well, there was every chance a bigger club would come calling.
That is exactly what happened.
“The calculation was made up of the fact that if we were very successful as a team and Lawrence was very successful on the park, the risk would be that we would lose him at the end of the first season.”
The Hearts chief admitted supporters would naturally be disappointed at losing their captain and star striker, but insisted the club would make the same decision again because of what Shankland delivered throughout the campaign.
“I accept that that may be difficult to hear but I defy anybody to push back against the fact that it was the correct decision for the club that Derek [McInnes] and I took whereby we had Lawrence for the year, he scored 20-plus goals, his leadership on and off the park was of the highest level and he helped as well as the other players and Derek helped to manoeuvre the difficult path for the team where everybody was expecting us to fall, to falter and to not last the course.”
From a Rangers perspective, the comments will only reinforce how significant the signing could be.
Rohl now has one of the league’s most reliable goalscorers at his disposal heading into a campaign where expectations will be enormous. With Celtic still dominating Scottish football, Rangers know they cannot afford another season of falling short.
Shankland’s arrival is being viewed as one of the first major moves in what is expected to be a transformative summer at Ibrox.
While Hearts supporters continue to come to terms with losing their fan favourite, Rangers fans will be hoping the Scotland international becomes the man who finally helps swing the balance of power back towards Govan.
Nafisa
