Six free agent strikers Rangers could consider transfer swoops for after 'significant' injury blow

Rangers are set to be without another striker for the foreseeable after summer signing Lawrence Shankland’s hamstring blow.

The recruit from Hearts has been named captain but trudged off eight minutes into Saturday’s 1-0 victory in the Premiership against Motherwell. Manager Derek McInnes signed forward Kevin Kelsy on deadline day to cover for Youssef Chermiti’s ACL injury keeping him out long-term but now Shankland is set for an extended period on the sidelines.

McInnes said post-match: “It looks quite significant to be honest. Similar injury we think to what he had at Hearts last year and he was out for a long period of time then. So, I think we'll get the scan on Monday and see how it looks then rather than speculate, but I'll only say that it does look quite significant as if he could be out for a period of time.

"So, disappointing from Lawrence's point of view and from our point of view because obviously he was leading the line and scored a few goals in the last couple of games. We don't know why, maybe gone from astro to grass and things like that as he's not been on the best surfaces. So, all these things you start to really consider now. But it's disappointing nonetheless, but there was more positives than negatives from the day, but that was a negative.”

Could the blow force Rangers back into the market for a free agent striker? From an ex Liverpool star attracting Scottish interest to others around Europe, here are some of the candidates Rangers could assess if they felt the need.

Marcus Forss (Last club - Middlesbrough)

The Finnish international is more of a mobile threat along the front line rather than a poacher like Shankland so wouldn’t exactly be like-for-like. Initial promise at Brentford helped land a four-year run at the Riverside which ended this summer after Middlesbrough loaned him to Bolton. Decent experience and still only 27.

Jamie Vardy (Last club - Cremonese)

Has there been a club over the summer not linked with Vardy? The experienced forward who won the league at Leicester City is not retiring but has not decided his next club either. Serie A move suggests a man seeking fresh challenges to end his career with and Rangers certainly provide that. Last signing in his mould, Jermain Defoe, did a stellar job at Ibrox.

Karl Toko Ekambi (Last club - Al-Arabi)

33-year-old turns 34 later this month after a few years in the middle-east across various clubs. Before that he was a regular goal-getter at Ligue 1 level and enjoyed time in Spain at Villarreal. Wages a factor but not many better available in terms of pedigree.

Danny Ings (Last club - Sheffield United)

Former Liverpool ace is reportedly on Hibs’ radar, and if they can afford his wages for a shot at Scottish football, Rangers certainly could. Hasn’t had a great time of it the last couple of seasons but time at Burnley, Liverpool and more displayed his prowess for goalscoring. Would be a more Shankland-esque signing in terms of profile.

Anthony Martial (Last club - Monterrey)

Undoubted talent in the Frenchman famed for a nine-year stint at Manchester United but subsequent moves to Sevilla, AEK Athens and Monterrey in Mexico have not worked. Money an obvious factor but Martial might need to drop his value to rebuild his stock in Europe. Only 30 and should be in his peak years right now.

Pavol Safranko (Last club - Sabah)

Who, you may ask? Cast your mind back to 2019 and Rangers were credited with an interest in the Slovakian star at Dundee United, who played 40 times with 15 goals at Tannadice. He’s since scored with regularity in South Africa, Romania and Azerbaijan, where the 31-year-old netted 18 times in 55 outings for Champions League-bound Sabah, captaining them before a cruel knee injury last year. Needs built back up but if fit he could be a wildcard option after surgery last November.

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