Which Nottingham Forest target is available?
Lawrence Shankland, the Ayr United striker. Forest have been continually linked with the centre-forward all season and now have the chance to bring him to the City Ground.
Shankland is out of contract this summer and will be available on a free transfer in July. The 23-year-old gave a farewell on Twitter and is expected to be moving on in the coming weeks.
He’s highly-rated too, having finished as top scorer in the Scottish Championship with 24 league goals this season, winning him the inaugural Tartan Ball award.
What clubs are keen?
Shankland is believes to have more than six clubs interested in his signature.
According to David Fowler of The Sun, Swansea City, Sunderland, Hull City and Nottingham Forest of the Championship are monitoring his progress.
Stuart Jamieson of Chronicle Live says Celtic and Rangers of the Scottish Premiership are also keen.
How much is he?
While Shankland will be a free transfer when his contract expires in the coming weeks, his age will require a buying club to pay Ayr a compensation fee.
EFL regulation 67.3 states: “Any Club which (offers a new deal) to a Contract Player who is an Under 24 Player… shall be entitled to a Compensation Fee in respect of the loss of the Player’s registration, should the Player sign for another Club.”
The price varies between players, but Full Contact Law say the fee is decided upon a number of factors – the player’s age, form, valuation, time spent at former club, contract terms offered by both clubs and past transfer fees. The two clubs will negotiate the fee until they can reach an agreement.
Shankland was a valuable asset to Ayr and helped them achieve a top-four finish in the Championship so he should fetch a tidy compensation fee. He was rated at around £400k in December 2018 but may be closer to £1m given his impact in Scotland.
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