Celtic are battling with Sunderland to try to sign exit-bound Ayr United striker Lawrence Shankland, according to the Northern Echo.
The 23-year-old – who netted 34 goals in 41 appearances for the Scottish second-tier side last season – has turned down the offer of a new contract with Ayr and will become a free agent next month.
The newspaper claims that Shankland’s performances have caught the eye of Hoops boss Neil Lennon, who is interested in bringing the attacker to Parkhead.
Shankland is said to be aware of Lennon’s interest but the newspaper adds that Celtic would be unlikely to give the forward much first-team football, which Black Cats boss Jack Ross has identified as a key selling point in a potential move to the North East.
Good move for Celtic?
This is an interesting one. There is no doubt that Shankland has amazing goalscoring talent – 34 goals in 41 appearances tell you that – but one thing is true: coming from the Championship, the striker is unlikely to come straight into the Celtic first team and would probably appear much less than 41 times – as he did last term. What’s more, it would be a massive step up for Shankland and he would have to produce a fantastic start and hit the ground running if he was to succeed fully in a Celtic shirt. Having said that, Celtic wouldn’t mind having the option of another goalscorer in their ranks.
This is Futbol rating 4/10
Likely to happen?
It all depends on what Shankland wants to do. The Northern Echo’s report says that the striker is attracted by the prospect of moving to Celtic and all that comes with it. But would he be happy to be a squad player? If Shankland wants first-team football, he would be better off going to Sunderland where – based on his form last season – he would fit in excellently with Jack Ross’s team.
This is Futbol rating 3/10