Where Lawrence Shankland stands in Scotland camp after Rangers switch from Hearts

Shankland’s deadly form in front of goal took Hearts to within minutes of a first top-tier title for 66 years and has now landed him a lucrative move to Rangers where he will be expected to start the new campaign as their first-choice centre forward.

Between now and then, of course, there is the small matter of Scotland’s first World Cup appearance since 1998. So, what chance Shankland going on to become as influential for his country as he has been at his now former club over the last four years?

He has amassed just 18 caps since making his debut against Russia in 2019 and scored a total of four goals, his last the one everyone tends to forget when eulogising over the more spectacular strikes claimed by Scott McTominay, Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean in that famous win over Denmark that booked Scotland’s ticket to the World Cup.

Steve Clarke has a habit of staying doggedly loyal to those who have served him well in the past, meaning Che Adams or Lyndon Dykes will start as the frontrunners to claim the sole striking slot in Clarke’s favoured 4-1-4-1 formation.

Few, though, have followed Shankland’s development as closely as Naismith, another who played up front for Rangers, Hearts and Scotland and who also managed Shankland at Tynecastle and still works with him as one of Clarke’s assistant coaches.

He sees a player at the peak of his powers, someone who has developed his all-round game while taking on an increased role as a leader and mentor to others. Rangers’ latest signing could be given another chance to impress in Saturday’s friendly against Curacao but Naismith believes the 30-year-old is already knocking on the door of a World Cup start.

“For me, Lawrence over the last three to four years has been arguably the best player in Scotland in every area: leadership, goalscoring, importance to a team, and his build-up play,” he said. “He's probably taken a wee bit of time to get to that comfortable zone [in international football]. But he's at that now at what's probably the best moment ahead of going to a World Cup.

“At the end of my time as manager at Hearts, Lawrence was finding it tough probably because a lot was going on. But as you've seen he's rebounded and became the best player in Scotland for me. He’s a really good weapon to have going into a World Cup.”

Shankland leaves Hearts as their captain and on-field leader in recent years and Naismith believes that’s an element in his armoury that is often overlooked.

“When there are tough moments he stands up and performs but if there are tough moments and you need to face a crowd or whatever, he'll put somebody to the side and say, “No I’ll deal with this,”.

“Because of his leadership skills he knows the pressure that is put on players. That's something he's developed and you must credit the likes of Robbie Neilson for giving him the captaincy and the opportunity to perform that way. He's grown and as a player I think he's as good as he's ever been in every aspect of his game.

As well as Adams and Dykes, Shankland will face competition from the two other strikers in the squad for a place, namely George Hirst and Ross Stewart. Naismith, though, believes Clarke has sufficient tactical flexibility to get the best out of the resources available to him.

“Every striker I think coming into this squad will have a bit of belief that they'll play or should start for Scotland,” he added. “The players that have been selected all probably have some things that are slightly different and will be needed without a doubt.

“I think the good thing about this squad is we can play a few formations. We've shown that we're good at it and sometimes it can be seen as brave playing two strikers. Whether that's with a back five or a back four in a 4-4-2, we've done it well. The gaffer's got an idea of how he wants to do it in each game but the next two weeks are going to decide that. And that's genuinely there for the players to go and say, ‘I'm determined to be the one that starts for Scotland’.