Lawrence Shankland would not be a good fit for Celtic’s style of play, and his Rangers allegiances make it unlikely he will sign for the champions in January, according to Mark Wilson.

The former Celtic full back is an admirer of the Hearts striker, who has been linked with moves to both Celtic and Rangers as well as a host of English Championship clubs over the past few weeks following a scintillating start to the season with the Tynecastle outfit.

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The 28-year-old has bagged 18 goals for Steven Naismith’s side in all competitions so far this term, and he is also in contention for Steve Clarke’s squad for next summer’s European Championships having scored a late equaliser for his country in a European qualifier in Georgia in November.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken warmly about Shankland’s ability in the past, and he was on the scoresheet at Celtic Park in December as Hearts shocked his side by recording a 2-0 win, but Wilson can’t see the boyhood Rangers fan signing for their great rivals.

"I like Shankland, but I think his allegiances lie elsewhere,” Wilson said.

"I'm not sure if he fits Celtic's model, the way Brendan wants to play. I think he'd suit Rangers, a real goalscorer. 

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"I think Brendan will go down south, he knows that market well. It might be a loan move, which I'm not particularly keen on, but it might be a loan move just now with an option to buy.

"It'll be interesting."

Meanwhile, former Scotland captain Colin Hendry reckons that Shankland could be the key man for his nation next summer as they look to qualify for the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time.

"We're quite blessed at the moment in central midfield with McGinn and McTominay and a few others but what we really need is a striker," Hendry said.

"Now there is one striker at this minute in time scoring goals in Lawrence Shankland, but whether he makes the trip or not will be interesting. 

"You've got to have somebody in the squad who's actually physically scoring goals at a respectable level, so for me - he's in the Premiership, he's scoring goals, he's going to possibly be sold in the summer, it's all there for him at this moment.

"He went off to Belgium and came back, and he found that tough but he's come back and he's kicked on again and that's what you need to do - try out different levels and see where you're at. 

"He's come back to a level that he knows about and he's kicked on, he's scoring goals for Hearts.

"There's a big gulf between the Premier League and the Championship. I could see him playing in the Championship possibly but I'm not trying to punt him. He's a Hearts player, he's scoring the goals and for me he should really be going to Germany. 

"You need a goalscorer irrespective of the level. Even against Georgia for Scotland, you saw it when he came off the bench and scored."