Lawrence Shankland

Lawrence Shankland (born 10 August 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Dundee United of the Scottish Premiership[2] and the Scotland national team.

Lawrence Shankland
Shankland with Scotland in 2019
Personal information
Full name Lawrence Shankland
Date of birth (1995-08-10) 10 August 1995
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Dundee United
Number 24
Youth career
2009–2012 Queen's Park
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Queen's Park 34 (11)
2013–2017 Aberdeen 17 (0)
2014 → Dunfermline Athletic (loan) 13 (7)
2015–2016 → St Mirren (loan) 31 (10)
2016–2017 → St Mirren (loan) 17 (0)
2017 → Greenock Morton (loan) 16 (4)
2017–2019 Ayr United 61 (50)
2019– Dundee United 48 (28)
National team‡
2015 Scotland U21 4 (2)
2019– Scotland 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:20, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:03, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

He began his career at Queen's Park before moving to Aberdeen in 2013. He played on loan with Dunfermline Athletic, St Mirren and Greenock Morton before joining Ayr United in 2017. He signed for Dundee United in 2019 and made his debut for Scotland later that year.

Club career

Queen's Park

Shankland was born in Glasgow and attended Bannerman High School in Baillieston.[3] He progressed through the Queen's Park youth system and was their top goalscorer in the 2012–13 season, having moved to the senior squad straight from the under-17 team;[4] he also worked part-time as a tool setter in a local plumbing supplies company, a position arranged by the amateur club to help their young players earn a wage.[3] He scored his first senior goal on 4 August 2012, aged 16, in a Scottish League Cup tie against Airdrieonians.[5]

Shankland signed for Aberdeen at the end of the season.[6][7] He was one of three Queen's Park players to move to top flight Scottish clubs at that time, as Andy Robertson and Aidan Connolly signed for Dundee United.[6][3] Blair Spittal also made the move to Dundee United a year later.

Aberdeen

Shankland was initially placed in the Aberdeen under-20 squad, as he adjusted to full-time professional training.[7][3] He made his debut appearance for Aberdeen in September 2014, in a 3–2 victory against Inverness CT.[8] After impressing in the under-20s, scoring plenty of goals, and making first team appearances as a substitute, Shankland signed a new contract to run until summer 2017;[9][3] however, he was loaned to lower-division clubs for the vast majority of its duration. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Aberdeen confirmed that Shankland would be leaving the club.[10]

Dunfermline loan

He moved to Dunfermline Athletic on loan for the latter part of the 2013–14 season.[11] The 18-year-old striker scored seven league goals during his short spell in Fife; however, injury prevented him taking part in the Pars' end-of-season promotion play-off with local rivals Cowdenbeath which ended in defeat.[12]

St Mirren and Morton loans

Shankland was loaned to St Mirren in August 2015 for the rest of the 2015–16 season.[13] He scored his first goal for the Buddies in a 2–1 home defeat to Raith Rovers on 18 September 2015.[14] Shankland scored 10 goals in 32 appearances during his loan spell, and returned to Aberdeen at the end of the season.[15]

In July 2016 it was confirmed that Shankland had returned to St Mirren, on a season-long loan.[16] However, having failed to score any league goals in the first half of the season, his St Mirren deal was cut short and on 11 January 2017, he moved on loan to their rivals, fellow Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton.[17] After helping the club to a 4th-place finish, his final appearance for Morton was in the Scottish Premiership playoff defeat to Dundee United.[18]

Ayr United

In September 2017, free agent Shankland signed a short-term contract to play for Scottish League One club Ayr United until the following January.[19] On 24 March 2018 he scored a hat-trick against former club Queen's Park.[20] Ayr won the league by one point, and after finishing with 29 goals, Shankland was named as the division's PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year.[21]

He started the 2018–19 season with a hat-trick against former club Morton in the League Cup.[22] On 28 July, he scored a "stunning goal" from 45 yards as Ayr defeated Partick Thistle to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.[23] With a goal against Dunfermline on 25 August 2018, Shankland moved to 41 goals in 42 games for the Honest Men.[24]

In November 2018, he scored four goals in a league fixture away to Dundee United which ended 5–0 and put Ayr five points clear at the top of the table.[25] However he then sustained an injury, and Ayr's form deteriorated in his absence. He returned towards the end of the season, but the team's campaign ended with defeat to Inverness CT in the opening round of the Premiership promotion play-offs, having finished in 4th position.[26] Shankland, whose total return was 34 goals in 41 games, was nominated for the division's PFA Player of the Year Award,[27] but lost out to another prolific striker, Stephen Dobbie. Both were named in the Team of the Year.[28]

Dundee United

On 3 July 2019 it was announced that Shankland had left Ayr to join fellow Championship side Dundee United on a three-year contract, turning down offers from other clubs in both England and Scotland.[2][29] He scored on his debut for the club in a Scottish League Cup tie against Hearts on 12 July 2019,[30] and scored four goals in a 4–1 victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the opening day of the 2019–20 Scottish Championship season.[31] Shankland was named Scottish Championship Player of the Month for August 2019, having scored eight goals in four appearances during the month.[32] The season was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, and curtailed a month later, with Dundee United declared winners and promoted;[33] up to that point Shankland had scored 24 league goals to finish as the division's top scorer, and maintained the ratio of almost a goal-per-game he had set at Ayr, with a total of 28 from 33 appearances.

On 12 January 2021, Shankland scored with a "wonder strike" from 53 yards (48 m) to secure a 2–2 draw against St Johnstone.[34]

International career

Shankland represented Scotland under-18s in Victory Shield matches against the other home nations in 2012.[35] He was first selected for the Scotland national under-21 football team in March 2015; he made his debut away to Hungary, scoring two late goals in a 2–1 victory. He made three other under-21 appearances, also in 2015, producing one draw and two defeats.[36]

On 1 October 2019, Scotland manager Steve Clarke called up Shankland to the senior squad for the first time.[37] He won his first cap when he came on as a second-half substitute in the side's 4–0 defeat by Russia on 10 October,[38] and three days later made his first start and scored his first goal, the fourth in a 6–0 victory over San Marino at Hampden Park.[39]

Career statistics
As of 4 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Queen's Park 2011–12[40] Scottish Third Division 1000000010
2012–13[41][1] Scottish Third Division 331131314[lower-alpha 1]24315
Total 34113131424415
Aberdeen 2013–14[42] Scottish Premiership 000000—00
2014–15[43] Scottish Premiership 170000000170
2015–16[44] Scottish Premiership 0000000000
2016–17[45] Scottish Premiership 0000000000
Total 170000000170
Dunfermline Athletic (loan) 2013–14[42] Scottish League One 137100000147
St Mirren (loan) 2015–16[44] Scottish Championship 31101000003210
2016–17[45] Scottish Championship 17012313[lower-alpha 2]1244
Greenock Morton (loan) 2016–17[45] Scottish Championship 16400002[lower-alpha 3]0184
Ayr United 2017–18[46] Scottish League One 30263300003329
2018–19[47] Scottish Championship 312411693[lower-alpha 4]04134
Total 61504469307463
Dundee United 2019–20[48] Scottish Championship 262422421[lower-alpha 2]03328
2020–21[49] Scottish Premiership 224000000224
Total 48282242105532
Career total 2371101291613133278135
  1. Two appearances and a goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup; two appearances and a goal in the Second Division play-offs
  2. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. Appearances in the Premiership play-offs
  4. 1 appearance in the 2018–19 Scottish Challenge Cup, 2 appearances in the Premiership play-offs

International goals
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
113 October 2019Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland San Marino4–06–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Ayr United

Dundee United

Individual

References
  1. Lawrence Shankland at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  2. "United Announce Shankland Signing". Dundee United Football Club. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  3. "Lawrence Shankland interview". Aberdeen FC. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  4. "Shankland given opportunity at Aberdeen". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  5. Roache, Ian (2 October 2019). "Sean Burns looks back to when 16-year-old Lawrence Shankland announced his arrival as goalscorer". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. Crawford, Kenny (5 July 2013). "Young Queen's Park trio make rare jump to SPL from Third Division". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  7. "Aberdeen sign former Rangers winger Gregg Wylde". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  8. "FT: Aberdeen 3 Inverness CT 2". www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen FC. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  9. "Aberdeen: Adam Rooney & Niall McGinn sign new deals". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  10. "Aberdeen: Ash Taylor & Lawrence Shankland join players leaving Pittodrie". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  11. "Aberdeen's Lawrence Shankland joins Dunfermline on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  12. "Cowdenbeath V Dunfermline at Central Park – Match Preview". CowdenbeathMad. FootyMad. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  13. "Loan Signing: Lawrence Shankland". www.saintmirren.net. St Mirren F.C. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  14. "St Mirren 1–2 Raith Rovers match report". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  15. "Squad Update". St Mirren Official website. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  16. "Loan Signing: Lawrence Shankland". St Mirren FC. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  17. Mitchell, Jonathan (11 January 2017). "Aberdeen striker Lawrence Shankland joins on loan". Greenock Morton FC. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  18. "Dundee United 3–0 Greenock Morton". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  19. "Ayr United sign former Aberdeen striker Lawrence Shankland as Ian McCall bids to boost side's League One title bid". Daily Record. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  20. "Scottish League One: Ayr strengthen grip on top spot, Forfar boost hopes". BBC Sport. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  21. "Scott Brown: Celtic captain voted PFA Scotland player of the year 2017/18". BBC Sport. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  22. United, Ayr (14 July 2018). "GOOOAAAALLLL! | HAT-TRICK @Shankland_25. A cool chip over Ryan Scully.pic.twitter.com/RU3oPLS07a".
  23. "League Cup: Partick Thistle 0-2 Ayr United, Morton 5-0 Albion Rovers". BBC Sport. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  24. "Ayr United 4-1 Dunfermline Athletic". BBC Sport. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. "Dundee United 0-5 Ayr United". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  26. "Inverness CT 1-1 Ayr United (4-2 agg): hosts set up play-off semi-final meeting with Dundee United". BBC Sport. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  27. "Player of the Year: Old Firm quartet vie for PFA Scotland top prize". BBC Sport. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  28. "Kilmarnock's Steve Clarke and Celtic's James Forrest win PFA manager and player of the year awards". Press and Journal. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  29. "Dundee Utd confirm Lawrence Shankland signing as striker leaves Ayr Utd". BBC Sport. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  30. "Hearts 1–1 Dundee United". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  31. Lewis, Jane (3 August 2019). "Dundee United 4–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  32. "Awards Double For Dundee United". Scottish Professional Football League. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  33. "Scottish Championship, League One and League Two seasons end after Dundee vote for SPFL resolution". BBC Sport. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  34. "Goal of the season? Watch Shankland's 53-yard wonder strike". BBC Sport. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  35. "Scotland Under 18s 2012 Photo Gallery". Scottish FA. The Scottish Schools' Football Association 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  36. "Lawrence Shankland". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  37. "Lawrence Shankland: Scotland call-up for Dundee United striker". BBC Sport. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  38. Forsyth, Roddy (10 October 2019). "Sorry Scotland thrashed by Russia to leave Nations League as their only Euro 2020 hope". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  39. Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019). "Scotland 6–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  40. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  41. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  42. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  43. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  44. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  45. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  46. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  47. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  48. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  49. "Games played by Lawrence Shankland in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  50. "Scottish League One: Ayr United pip Raith Rovers to title and automatic promotion". BBC Sport. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  51. "SPFL monthly awards". www.spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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