Former Nottingham Forest man Kenny Burns has urged the club to sign Dundee United’s prolific goalscorer Lawrence Shankland.
Burns, who played for the Reds for four years from 1977 to 1981, wrote a column for the Nottingham Post recently and he gave his verdict on the club’s links with Dundee’s Shankland.
He said: “I see Forest linked with a move for Lawrence Shankland at Dundee for almost a year now. He’s been in great form up there, has scored 19 goals and looks a player with real potential, nor would he cost the earth.
“At the age of 24, he’s still young enough to learn how to adapt to English football and make an impact.
“We saw how good John McGinn has been at Aston Villa, and many suggested he wasn’t good enough when the Reds were keen to sign him when Mark Warburton was boss, so we shouldn’t write him off because he plays in Scotland’s second division. For me, he’s a risk worth taking.”
One of the best goal-getters in Scotland.
As Burns pointed out, Shankland is still only 24 but his stock has risen quickly in Scotland over the last 2-3 years – ever since he began impressing for Ayr United in the Scottish Championship.
In the 2017-18 campaign, Shankland scored as many as 26 times in 30 appearances for Ayr. He assisted as many as times too. Not just that, but he kept going in the 2018-19 campaign as well. He played 31 times in the Championship for the club that season, finding the back of the net 24 times.
This impressive goalscoring form saw Shankland join Dundee United this past summer and he hasn’t let anyone down with the move.
He has played only 13 times in the Championship for the club but boasts of a sensational goalscoring tally of 17 goals. In the Scottish League Cup, the striker has played four times and has bagged two goals.
This impressive form has earned the former Aberdeen man a call-up to the Scottish national team. He made his debut last month, scoring in his first start in a 6-0 win over minnows San Marino.
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It is next to impossible to turn down a striker like Shankland. His goalscoring form over the last three seasons will make everyone sit up and take notice. In that sense, attention from Forest isn’t a surprise at all.
The Reds have seen 31-year-old Lewis Grabban score seven times in the Championship, but second-choice striker Rafa Mir hasn’t done enough to stake his claim to a first-team spot. Sammy Ameobi has scored twice, but the former Newcastle man has played on the left of the midfield.
Grabban, on the other hand, isn’t getting any younger with age. Forest have scored only 20 goals this season- the sixth lowest in the league so far. If they want to challenge for promotion, they need to score more. Shankland brings the promise of scoring those goals.