Rangers could not afford Lawrence Shankland, insists Hearts chief sporting director Joe Savage

Joe Savage insists Rangers “could not afford” Lawrence Shankland and confirmed that Hearts would have rejected any bid for their captain and top scorer.

The club’s sporting director confirmed that there have been no bids for Shankland during the January transfer window, but says Hearts would have rejected any offer had one come in. The striker is the first Hearts player to hit 20 goals in a season for 31 years.

Asked about suggestions of transfer interest from Rangers, Savage told BBC Sportsound: “They wouldn’t be able to afford him, I can tell you that right now. Not a chance. No price, not for sale.

“Shankland’s not going anywhere, he’s going to get 30 odd goals for us this season and become an absolute Hearts legend. That’s the plan.

“Nobody came to us with any sort of offer. We’d have passed on the message that they were wasting their time. We want him to fire us to win the Scottish Cup and finish third.”