If Hearts decide to sell Lawrence Shankland in the January transfer window it would almost certainly be the wrong decision.
But when it comes to being potentially tempted into selling your most-prized asset, the Edinburgh club are not alone. The custodians at fourth-place Kilmarnock would also do well to hold firm if anyone comes in for Danny Armstrong.
And while there isn’t quite the sort of transfer hype around the better players at Hibernian or St Mirren at the moment, they too should think long and hard about any offer of cold, hard cash in return for their top players.
These clubs simply shouldn’t do it while there remains the possibility of a third-place finish and an extended European run, for the creation of the Europa Conference League has been a significant game-changer in the Scottish top flight and should alter the mindset of many non-Old Firm clubs if it hasn’t already.
Even Aberdeen, all the way down in eighth, will seriously consider their options if a bid comes in for Luis “Duk” Lopes. According to rumours on the continent, Swiss side Young Boys are prepared to pay somewhere in the region of £2.5 million for the player. This fee would have previously belonged in the “bite-your-hand-off” category for a forward who has netted only two league goals this campaign.
But this was the man instrumental in Aberdeen’s unlikely run to third last term and, with three games in hand, they will definitely have ambitions of repeating the trick.
Once the avenue to guaranteed group-stage football in European competition opened up for mid-ranking Scottish clubs – a prize achieved either by winning the Scottish Cup or, more likely on a season-by-season basis, finishing third behind the Old Firm in the league table – it breathed new life into the top flight.
Previously, it was a nice feeling to finish “best-of-the-rest” in third, but it didn’t reward teams or their supporters with anything tangible. It was the chance to stick the Vicky’s up at the rest of the wannabes while receiving entry into the treacherous and seemingly impossible-to-navigate preliminary rounds of European competition.
With a lack of prize money in the early rounds, fewer prestigious opponents and the greater chance of being sent to some far-flung corner of the continent, clubs in the past have even complained of “losing” money. That’s quite a contrast to the £4m in prize money “alone” that Aberdeen have banked on their Conference League adventure this term.
And it’s not just the bean counters whose eyes light up at the prospect of guaranteed group-stage football in Europe.
Speaking from personal experience, seeing my team in the Europa Conference League group stages was magic. There was time to pick and choose the most desirable and cost-effective destinations. And once we arrived it was all a blur of drunken, blissful revelry where the football hardly mattered. Getting to sample the best of both Riga and Florence within the space of a few weeks was a top-tier experience in my footballing life.
Thousands upon thousands of Hearts fans sampled such delights in the early months of last season. And it was the ravenous hunger to taste them again which helped fuel the fury towards Robbie Neilson when he oversaw a dreadful run towards the end of last season, ultimately concluding in his sacking and a disappointing fourth-place finish.
Supporter opinion in 2024 matters so much more than it used to. Scottish football fan bases have a much bigger influence on footballing decisions than ever before, and they won’t accept their board giving up the chance to reach such a desired promised land in favour of a quick cash injection unless there is an urgent need for it.
Let’s go back to Shankland, for example. You would be hard pressed to find a Hearts fan who believes a fair deal for their captain and top goalscorer should be any less than £5 million in this window.
Now, it’s highly unlikely Hearts are going to receive an offer as much as that for the former Dundee United ace. He will turn 29 in August, doesn’t have a pedigree of scoring regularly anywhere outside of Scottish football, and has only 18 months remaining on his contract. All of these factors sap his prospective worth in a market where everyone is scrambling around desperately trying to get the best value for money.
But even if the best offer Hearts receive this window is half of what the supporter base demands, it doesn’t mean they are wrong. In what world would it make sense for the Tynecastle side to sell their most influential player for anything less than £5m when they can make more money than that by simply staying the course and getting to the group stages in Europe again? Especially when the player in question can’t really force the hand of the club by threatening to down tools as he needs to maintain his form to have a chance of getting in the Scotland squad for the Euros.
All of this will also impact the way in which Celtic and Rangers conduct business in the January window. As the years have rolled on, the pair have preferred to do their shopping away from these shores but there are still many instances of them cherry-picking talent from elsewhere in Scotland midway through the campaign at discount prices. (Naturally, both are being heavily linked with a move for Shankland.)
For both Hearts, who occupy third place with a five-point lead and a game in hand, and the clubs who fancy themselves ready to pounce should Steven Naismith’s men slip up, January should not be a month for being bullied into giving up your best and brightest.
It should be about pulling all your efforts into grasping the pre-season objective, potentially setting the club up for a transformative financial windfall and, above all else, giving your supporters the kind of experiences that can be treasured for a lifetime.
Craig Fowler: Scottish clubs shouldn't sell their Euro dream for a quick buck
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08.01.2024
If Hearts decide to sell Lawrence Shankland in the January transfer window it would almost certainly be the wrong decision.
But when it comes to being potentially tempted into selling your most-prized asset, the Edinburgh club are not alone. The custodians at fourth-place Kilmarnock would also do well to hold firm if anyone comes in for Danny Armstrong.
And while there isn’t quite the sort of transfer hype around the better players at Hibernian or St Mirren at the moment, they too should think long and hard about any offer of cold, hard cash in return for their top players.
These clubs simply shouldn’t do it while there remains the possibility of a third-place finish and an extended European run, for the creation of the Europa Conference League has been a significant game-changer in the Scottish top flight and should alter the mindset of many non-Old Firm clubs if it hasn’t already.
Even Aberdeen, all the way down in eighth, will seriously consider their options if a bid comes in for Luis “Duk” Lopes. According to rumours on the continent, Swiss side Young Boys are prepared to pay somewhere in the region of £2.5 million for the player. This fee would have previously belonged in the “bite-your-hand-off” category for a forward who has netted only two league goals this campaign.
But this was the man instrumental in Aberdeen’s unlikely run to third last term and, with three games in hand, they will definitely have ambitions of repeating the........
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