Former Dundee striker Craig Beattie reckons that Dundee United’s free-scoring Lawrence Shankland would be an ideal signing for Celtic.
Shankland’s goal in the 6-0 win against San Marino on his full Scottish international debut followed on from his Dundee United goalscoring exploits that have made him Europe’s top scorer.
Craig Beattie told Open Goal’s Keeping the Ball on the Ground Podcast: “Celtic need a striker.
“He’s good enough for Celtic, I think he suits Celtic’s style more than Rangers.
“The way Morelos plays he creates a lot of chances and makes a lot of goals for himself.
“Whereas Celtic are a bit more creative in the final third with their wide players and [Ryan] Christie.
“I think he’d be more suited to Celtic and he could quite easily go into Celtic and do a job there.”
Beattie added is that the Tannadice outfit “are going to want silly money” for Shankland.
He continued: “The problem is going to be, if it’s a January move, that Dundee United are going to want silly money for him.
“Are Rangers or Celtic going to pay ridiculous money to a Championship team in Scotland?”
Shankland believes his stint at Aberdeen between 2013 and 2017, where he made only 17 appearances and appeared on loan at three other clubs, has helped him become the player he is today.
The 24-year-old striker told The Evening Express: “I was a young boy at Aberdeen and probably wasn’t really ready for that level at the time.
“It happens. Sometimes you take a step maybe too far than you should have.
“I went away, worked hard and it’s got me here. Fingers crossed, it keeps going like that.”
He admits he was close to quitting the game. He added: “I was going to go and get another job.
“Thankfully Ayr United came calling and gave me a great opportunity – I had to take it, it was kind of last-chance saloon.
“It’s been a crazy two years, really, when you think about it and getting my first two international caps and a goal, I can only really be proud of that.”
Speaking about scoring his first goal for his country, he added: “It’s a bit of a dream, to be honest. [John] McGinn said that to me before the game: ‘If two weeks ago somebody had said you’d be number nine for Scotland, you wouldn’t have believed them, would you?’
“I just had to enjoy it. I knew the kind of game it would be, with a lot of the ball. I just needed to be in and around the box and enjoy the night.”
