The Daily Mail journalist insisted that plenty of ex-pros had tipped the move, to an extent that the rumours were impossible to get away from, and the story only grew based on assumptions.
With Rangers targeting a new striker in January, and Shankland the current SPFL top scorer, and a boyhood Rangers fan, the move made plenty of sense, but the narrative got away from the truth.
McGowan shared in his column for the Scottish Daily Mail [3 February, page 109] that it was hard to turn on a TV or radio for weeks without hearing former professionals preach about the merits of the Scotland striker moving to Ibrox.
“The issue was that Rangers never made any kind of inquiry, much less a bid, about the Hearts skipper. The narrative developed on the basis of conjecture and assumption.
Are there media rumours about Shankland?
It gradually dawned on many at the close of the transfer window that Shankland would stay at Hearts – at least for this season – because it became evident that no new striker would arrive after the arrival of Fabio Silva at the beginning of the window.
There had been so much talk about a move to Ibrox that it almost felt inevitable that his future rested in Glasgow, but as McGowan cleared up, that talk never actually came from Ibrox.
Varying reports had emerged in the media throughout the window, but looking back it appears to have been pundits driving the talk rather than concrete information, with the likes of Barry Ferguson pleading for the deal to happen.
Ferguson continued to speak after the window closed, stating that while he can see Rangers supporters’ disappointment at Shankland’s absence, there doesn’t seem to have been any real interest at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, following Celtic’s draw against Aberdeen, Chris Sutton revealed his updated title verdict.
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