Oliver Birch 
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Queens Park Rangers are “likely” to make a bid for Lawrence Shankland if he impresses in Dundee United’s Scottish Cup clash with Hibernian this weekend.
That’s according to the Daily Record, who claim QPR director of football Les Ferdinand will travel to watch Shankland in person this weekend, and “a bid is likely to be sanctioned” if the striker does well.
The report claims Celtic, Everton, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Brentford have all previously scouted Shankland, but QPR appear to be leading the chase, with the English Championship side considering a bid.
READ CELTIC VERDICT
Regardless of whether Shankland impresses against Hibs this weekend, we feel as though Celtic should make a bid for the 24-year-old amid QPR’s interest.
The Express have revealed his price tag to be in the region of £2million, which we feel is a fee well within Celtic’s budget.
In our opinion, signing Shankland this month and loaning him back to the Tangerines immediately would be the perfect deal for all parties involved.
Firstly, Celtic would be snapping up a striker who has already scored 24 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions this season for a very low fee of £2m.
Given how the club have signed Patryk Klimala however, Shankland is unlikely to feature regularly ahead of the Pole and Odsonne Edouard in the second half of the season.
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Furthermore, the Tangerines would not be losing their key player midway through the season in their push for promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, while Shankland would be able to continue his barnstorming season at the club.
Dundee United would also be receiving £2m for the striker, and have the second half of the season to scout a replacement prior to the summer.
