During the summer it was reported that Nottingham Forest were one of several clubs interested in Ayr United striker Lawrence Shankland.
The Scottish Sun made the claim that Forest, along with Swansea, Sunderland and Hull City were all keen on the prolific striker.
A move to England never transpired though and instead, he joined Dundee United instead.
It wouldn’t appear that he is going to be at his new club long, however. During the first two months of the campaign, he has smashed 15 goals for the Championship side and according to the Daily Record, he is being scouted by Celtic and Rangers.
With the Old Firm monitoring the situation regarding Shankland closely, is there reason to believe that Forest have missed a trick with the young talisman?
Options
Forest have chosen to tackle this season with limited resources as far as strikers are concerned. Lewis Grabban is the main option, with Wolves loanee Rafa Mir the option from the bench.
The young Spaniard has spent some time out injured of late and that has seen the Reds unable to name a striking option on the bench.
For a club chasing promotion, it would perhaps be risky not to add another attacker to the ranks during the January transfer window. If Forest are still in the higher echelons of the division at the turn of the year then would perhaps be something to look at.
Tyler Walker has joined Lincoln City on loan for the season and as far as his development is concerned that looks like a decent move.
Forest could be left wanting should the unthinkable happen and Grabban picks up an injury that sees him sidelined for a period of time.
The 31-year-old is firmly established as the club’s number one striker and that should remain. Five goals this season indicate he is up to the challenge of firing the Reds towards promotion. Forest certainly don’t need to be spending millions on a striker to simply play second fiddle to Grabban.
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Shankland didn’t cost Dundee United a penny during the summer. The 24-year-old smashed a sensational 34 goals last season and looks like one to make waves in the future.
Plans
Theoretically, Forest could still take a chance on Shankland. The Sunderland Echo is reporting that a bid of £2 million could be enough to prise the striker away from Tannadice Park.
It seems likely that Shankland will be unable to cast a glance south of the border, however, when the lure of Celtic and Rangers is set to become an option for the young marksman.
Perhaps Forest will target a striker during the next window and someone like Shankland would have been ideal. He wouldn’t have broken the bank, he knows where the back of the net is and he scores all different types of goals.
Of course, Forest have signed promising players from Scotland in the past that haven’t worked out. Jason Cummings, for example.
The more goals Shankland continues to score, however, the more it will look like one that got away for Forest.
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