Alan Hutton believes Lawrence Shankland could be the man to fire Rangers to Scottish Premiership title glory this season as they aim to shoot down high-flying Celtic.
Philippe Clement’s side are currently eight points behind their bitter city rivals, but they do have two games in hand, which could close the gap to just two.
Celtic won the final derby showdown of 2023 at the turn of the year, but Rangers had chances, which they ultimately failed to take.
And with striker Cyriel Dessers coming under fire for his form this term, former Ibrox defender Hutton has now urged his former side to strengthen with attacking recruits this January window.
He explained: "For me, getting a striker could make the difference between Rangers winning the title or not. I think back to the Celtic game and the small margins.
“Rangers had big opportunities to score first and had they done that it could have been different.
“Look, I do feel for Dessers. There is a lot of pressure on him and it’s been difficult. It’s been the same for Sam Lammers too.
“They are under a lot of pressure to be ‘that guy.’ I think if they could get someone in it could make all the difference.
“I know Shankland is a name that keeps popping up. But it’s because he’s a goalscorer and because he can be a difference-maker.
“Celtic have that already, as we saw in the Old Firm game. I think Rangers need to bring someone in to make that difference.
“Fabio Silva has come in but I don’t see him as an out-and-out No9. He is someone who likes to play up there alongside somebody else.
“But Shankland could be the guy to make the difference, if you ask me. Just look at what he’s done in previous seasons. He got 28 goals last season and he’s scoring now.
“He popped up with an important goal for Scotland. He’s a leader within that Hearts team as well. When Craig Gordon got injured he took the captaincy on and he’s really grown in stature since then.
“He leads the line well. He would give Rangers something a little bit different. He knows the league inside out and knows he can score against all these teams.
“It’s difficult for me to sit here and talk about him as I know he’s at a different club but, in my opinion, someone like that, if he’s playing with Rangers, the opportunities he’s going to get with Tavernier putting the ball in the box, Barisic from the other side, these kind of things, he could score a barrow load.”
Hutton believes there has been a snobbery from a Rangers and Celtic point of view when it comes to recruitment with local talents such as Josh Doig and Aaron Hickey slipping through cracks in the recent seasons.
But the former Scotland full-back feels when players like Shankland are making the impact that they are on the Scottish game, then they simply cannot be ignored.
He continued: “It’s a proven respite for success at Rangers. When I was coming through, anyone who gave us problems, Rangers went and got.
“Look at Boydy, Naismith, Alan Gow at the time, Kenny Miller, Steven Thompson. These were guys who knew the league and could score goals.
“Boydy is a massive example of that. He didn’t play all the time in European games or whatever but in the league he scored goals. It was that simple.
“To progress, you need that number nine. I feel sometimes there can be a little bit of snobbery around it in terms of going to get Danilo – who I think is a good player – Dessers and these kind of guys for a lot of money.
“Coming in, you don’t know what pressure you are under and you need to hit the ground running. It can be difficult as it’s shown.
“To have someone who knows the league and you know can score goals, why wouldn’t you go for that?”
Hutton knows this transfer window will be key for Philippe Clement moving forward, but he has full confidence in the Belgian finding the gems required to propel Rangers forward both domestically and in Europe.
He said: “If you look at things before he came in, Rangers weren’t in a good place. But after 18 games there’s only been one loss. He has one trophy in the bag and the team is in the last 16 of the Europa League.
“So there is no doubt Clement has done well. We need to remember, it’s with the same players as the previous manager. So his start is a massive tick in the box.
“But then, as he says himself, it’s about building on this start and what’s coming next. I think he’ll be looking to put his foot down and really go for it.
“It’s important he gets to put his own stamp on the squad with signings this month. Obviously Fabio Silva has come in. But he’ll want to get his own players in to take things forward. And do that as soon as possible.
“January can be difficult to get your main targets in. But I’m sure he’ll be trying hard. There is no getting away from the fact there are some areas he needs to strengthen and improve to keep up with Celtic.
“What they’ve done in previous years has been outrageous at times.But he’ll know at Rangers he needs to win trophies and to do that he’ll be looking to put his own stamp on it.”
As well as a striker, Hutton feels a central midfielder and new left-back option could be required in the long run with a hectic fixture schedule to come.
He added: “In central midfield they’ve had problems with injuries and people have had to fill in there. The left-back situation is another area they could be looking at.
“Borna Barisic is out of contract and Yilmaz has done well enough at times - but will they look to bring someone else in for that role?
“If you were to put Yilmaz and Barisic together you’d have a right good player! Defensively Yilmaz is decent and gets forward but his final ball often lets him down.
“I felt in the Kilmarnock game he did really well but he was playing more inside the pitch.
“I don’t know if that’s something Rangers are going to try more moving forward. I know a lot of teams like to play that way these days.
“But is he the answer moving forward? I’m just not sure, too be totally honest. There is room for improvement but he needs to play regularly and he’s not doing that with his fight with Barisic.
“He still seems to be the go-to guy but for me Rangers will look to bring someone in there. Especially with Barisic’s contract coming to an end.”
Alan Hutton was speaking at a Scottish Gas media event. Scottish Gas is the proud partner of the Scottish Cup.
