The “perfect scenario” for the January transfer window would see Rangers buy Lawrence Shankland and Hearts replace him with Kevin van Veen, according to Lee McCulloch.
The ex-Gers midfielder predicted the three-way plan involving the former Motherwell man’s current club Groningen on PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show on 8 December as he dismissed Van Veen as suitable for Ibrox himself.
Tam McManus had backed the 32-year-old as a solid, affordable stop-gap on loan but McCulloch believes he is a better fit at Tynecastle when the Light Blues need the current Jambos captain.
McManus said (24m): “As a stop-gap, I think if you can get him on loan until the end of the season I would take it. I would take him for Rangers.
“He’s signed, I think, a two-year deal with Groningen, I don’t think he cost a lot of money, and he’d score goals, he’d score goals in the Premier League for Rangers.”
“I think he’s more suited to Hearts than he would be Rangers,” McCulloch said. “He was brilliant at Motherwell, he’s a really good player. You get away with missing chances at Motherwell when you miss those chances at Ibrox he could go into his shell.
“It’s just my gut feeling. I think Shankland, just go get him and then Hearts, for me, would think, ‘Right, we need to get Van Veen in to replace him.’ That would be the perfect scenario.”
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It would be an extremely convenient outcome for Rangers if that scenario was possible, but it would hinge very heavily on Hearts’ cooperation.
In theory the Jam Tarts might be open to bringing Van Veen to Tynecastle while having cash left over from a Shankland sale to Ibrox.
The Dutchman outscored the Scot by one (25 to 24) in the SPFL last season so they both clearly know how to find the net in this league, and while the former has talked up the possibility of a move next month himself it is the latter who is getting a lot more attention in that regard.
At four years younger it would make more sense in the long-term for Philippe Clement to want the man he has already admitted he was aware of long before taking over as Rangers manager.
Should Steven Naismith’s side be completely uninterested in a deal for their captain in the winter window then perhaps Van Veen could indeed be a good loan alternative for January, with the possible musical chairs at striker that McCulloch has suggested something that could be worked out in the summer.
Clement already needed help up front with Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers struggling to adapt and Kemar Roofe unable to stay fit, but with Danilo now facing surgery on a knee injury picked up in midweek it is all the more pressing.
The Brazilian himself was poor in the 1-0 win against Hearts even if he has shown more than others this season, but a proven scorer could be crucial to any success this season.
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