Nottingham Forest-linked Lawrence Shankland tipped for 50-goal season

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Scottish Premiership giants Rangers and Celtic reportedly want Dundee United goal-machine Lawrence Shankland, as do Nottingham Forest.

Lawrence Shankland has been tipped to hit 50 goals this season for Dundee United amid speculation linking the prolific centre-forward with a move to Rangers, Celtic and Nottingham Forest.

The Scotland international is one of the hottest strikers anywhere in Britain right now. Since joining Dundee United from Ayr over the summer, Shankland has found the net 19 times in 18 games in all competitions with his most recent strike coming in Friday’s 2-0 win away at arch-rivals Dundee.

The Daily Record claim that Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers both sent scouts to watch the 24-year-old score a hat-trick against Morton in September and the Scottish Sun has now thrown Nottingham Forest into the mix.

It will take a bid of £2 million to tempt Dundee United into selling their prized asset with promotion to Scotland’s top flight on the line. £2 million for a striker capable of scoring 50 goals in one season? That’s what we call good value.

“Can he get fifty? I don’t see why not because of the rate he’s scoring at,” Tangerines winger Louis Appere told the Herald.

“If he stays in the form he’s in then who knows what he’s capable of. He is a really good goalscorer but it’s unfair to just think of him like that, he’s got really good hold up play as well.

“He brings people into the game and is intelligent, but when you score as many as he does it’s no wonder people just focus on the goals!”

Forest look like genuine promotion contenders under Sabri Lamouchi but one concern surrounds an over-reliance on Lewis Grabban, who netted the winner against neighbours Derby County on Saturday.

A new striker is needed in January but it remains to be seen whether Shankland can thrive where Jason Cummings failed at the City Ground. Cummings, like Shankland, scored goals for fun in Scotland’s second tier with Hibernian but failed to make the grade in Forest colours.