Championship promotion-chasers Sunderland are reportedly interested in a move for Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland as his contract expires in the summer, but they face competition for his services from Premier League outfit Ipswich Town.

Shankland has emerged as one of the Scottish Premiership’s leading marksmen in recent seasons with the Jambos, and has won 16 caps for Scotland as a result of his strong form at the club.

He made his name at Queen’s Park as a youngster, before a failed move to Aberdeen saw him loaned out to numerous lower-league Scottish clubs as he tried to make an impact. Shankland then scored regularly in the Scottish Championship with Ayr United and Dundee United, and has been with Hearts since 2022 after one season with Belgian side Beerschot.

The 29-year-old is fast approaching the end of his contract at Tynecastle Park, and looks set to leave the Scottish capital in search of a new challenge after failing to hit his previous heights this season. A move south of the border could be on the cards, if reports are to be believed.

Sunderland register interest in Lawrence Shankland ahead of summer contract expiry

Sunderland have seriously impressed in the Championship this season, and look set for a place in the play-offs with the chance to get back into the Premier League after eight years away potentially at stake.

They are bound to be busy in the summer transfer window regardless of league status, and transfer reporter Graeme Bailey has told NotTheOldFirm that the Black Cats could be set to make a move for Shankland soon.

Bailey claims that Sunderland are among a number of clubs that have engaged with his agents and registered their interest, with relegation-threatened top-flight side Ipswich Town also named as a possible suitor.

Lawrence Shankland’s Hearts statistics (2022-present)
Appearances	128
Goals	63
Assists	21

He is thought to be open to a move to English football, which is no surprise as he approaches 30-years-old, but a potential move to Saudi Arabia also can’t be ruled out, according to Bailey.

Numerous clubs have been linked with a move for Shankland in windows gone by, but Hearts Standard reported in January that no club had made a concrete offer for his services that month amid apparent interest from Turkey. Sunderland may well have a decent chance of sealing his signature if they wish to pursue a deal ahead of his contract expiry.

Sunderland should only go for Shankland if they are in the Championship next season

Regis Le Bris’ side have certainly not struggled going forward so far this term, with their 55 goals scored being the fourth-highest among all Championship teams up to now.

Wilson Isidor has shone as their main centre-forward, so much so that his loan from Zenit St. Petersburg was made into a permanent deal in the winter window, while Eliezer Mayenda has really proven his worth in recent weeks by stepping off the bench to score some vital goals as they aim to cement their place inside the top six.

With that said, numerous different scenarios are likely to play out the summer, dependent on which league the Wearside outfit will be playing in, in 2025/26. If they do go up, then they will likely want to add a striker of real quality to compete with Isidor, while if they were to stay down, the French forward could well depart for a higher-placed team.

Shankland is undoubtedly a great goalscorer at a certain level, after he netted 24 league goals in each of his first two campaigns with Hearts. He has dropped off this season, however, with just four strikes in all competitions, which has seen him receive backlash from sections of the Tynecastle support.

He will be 30-years-old by the time next season rolls around too, so is clearly not getting any younger, but Sunderland could do a lot worse than bring him in as depth for next season if they are still a second-tier side. The Premier League does feel like too big a jump for the 16-cap Scotland international as it stands, but some good form over the coming months could see the Black Cats make a move regardless.

 

Scotland manager Steve Clarke is confident Ipswich Town striker George Hirst won’t turn his back on a call-up to his squad.

Clarke had planned to include the 26-year-old in the group he named on Tuesday for the UEFA Nations League play-off matches against Greece later this month.

A delay in the Scottish FA securing the necessary paperwork to permit a switch in allegiance for Sheffield-born Hirst, who has represented England from under-17 to under-20 level, forced Clarke to leave him out.

The son of former England striker David Hirst, he is eligible to play for Scotland through his paternal grandfather.

Clarke’s previous attempt to cap a player in similar circumstances backfired. Elliot Anderson, then with Newcastle United, was included in the Scotland squad for friendlies with Cyprus and England in August 2023 but withdrew injured after initially reporting for duty.

The midfielder, who has since made a £35million move to Nottingham Forest, later revealed he was committing his international future to England for whom he has since played at under-21 level.

George HIrst of Ipswich was supposed to be in Clarke’s Scotland squad for GreeceStriker Hirst caught the eye when he scored in the FA Cup against Nottingham ForestHIrst is mobbed by his Ipswich team-mates after his goal against Forest earlier this monthClarke was at the cup tie to watch Hirst but has been unable to call him up for nowIronically, Anderson was in the Forest side earlier this month who played Ipswich in the FA Cup, a match attended by Clarke who saw Hirst score for the Tractor Boys.

Having spoken to Hirst, Clarke has no fears he will have cold feet about playing for Scotland.

‘George will come if we get the paperwork through,’ said Clarke. ‘If we had got it through for this camp, he would have been in this squad.

‘He wants to play international football. We offer him that chance. You can never say 100 per cent but I’ll say I’m 99 per cent convinced that, as and when George is selected for the squad, he will turn up.

‘We had our first conversation about a month ago. He comes across as a very nice person. He wants to be here.

‘It’s possible he could still be added to this squad if the paperwork goes through.

‘George is someone we have had in mind for a few months. I’ve watched him recently. He is in and out of the Ipswich team, he has played in the cup games.

‘He scored against Forest and I was spotted on the telly at the game. It didn’t take a genius to work out who I was there to watch because he was the only one on the pitch qualified to play for Scotland.

‘He is a player who would help give us more depth to that striker position if we can do it.’

BBC football pundit Fara Williams has backed Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap to get an England call-up later this week.

Delap, 22, has been one of few bright spots in a tough top tier season for the Blues, often bullying world class defenders and bagging 10 goals in 27 games so far.

And that’s prompted former England international Williams to suggest that he may get a call-up when new national boss Thomas Tuchel names his first squad on Friday.

Thomas Tuchel in the stands at Selhurst Park on Saturday 

The German has reportedly drawn up a 55-name long list of players who could be included, and was in the stands at Selhurst Park as Delap and Town lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

While he apparently texted Palace’s England hopefuls – the likes of Dean Henderson, Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze – a good luck message before the game, he would no doubt have also been keen to have a look at Delap.

And in her latest column for BBC Sport, Williams said she believes Delap offers something that no other English striker does.

“Liam Delap has shone in an Ipswich team that are potentially going to go back down and could be a real option for Tuchel,” she wrote.

Fara Williams has backed Delap for England

“In terms of his goals and his presence, he has an ugly, old-school type of approach to his game. I don’t think any of the other English strikers have that.

“He has that style of being willing to have a fight with a defender even as a lone striker and I don’t think the others have that in their locker.

“In terms of what he does with the ball in front of goal, he’s a really calm finisher. He’s somebody that given time is definitely an option for Tuchel and he could look at him in this squad as a back-up to Harry Kane, who cannot play forever.

“To get those goals and have the season he has had in a very average Ipswich team in the Premier League, it has not been easy.”

Liam Delap has bagged 10 Premier League goals so far this season 

Williams concluded: “In terms of finishing in the box, he is similar to Kane but I don’t think Kane has the physical side in the same way.

“Delap is better at that than him but he is not able to drop into pockets and find forward passes as well as Kane can.

“Delap has some similar attributes to Kane but also offers something different and is definitely in with a shout for featuring in the upcoming international break.”

England host Albania in a World Cup qualifier on Friday, March 21st, in Tuchel’s first game in charge.

They then entertain Latvia in another qualifier on Monday, March 24th.

Ipswich Town captain Luke Woolfenden confirmed that he was subject to interest from Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United in the most recent transfer window.

Defender Woolfenden came through the Tractor Boys’ academy to make over 200 appearances for Ipswich, but was heavily linked to a move away in January following the arrival of Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta.

But no move was forthcoming, leaving the towering centre-back to remain at Portman Road.

Luke Woolfenden confirms transfer interest from Sheffield United during January transfer window

After earning back-to-back promotions under Kieran McKenna, flying from League One to the Premier League in consecutive seasons, Ipswich strengthened heavily over the summer to reinforce their squad ahead of their top-flight return.

The defence saw multiple new signings, with new centre-backs Jacob Greaves and Dara O’Shea arriving from Hull City and Burnley respectively.

As such, Woolfenden saw his 40 starts during last season’s Championship campaign turn into just 9 starts in Ipswich’s 28 Premier League games so far this year.

Luke Woolfenden’s 23/24 Stats in the Championship	Total
Matches Played	41
Matches Started	40
Goals	1
Assists	1
Clean Sheets	14
Interceptions per Game	1.1
Tackles per Game	0.9
Recoveries per Game	5.0
Dribbled Past per Game	0.2
Clearances per Game	3.7
Duels Won per Game	3.0
All Stats as per Sofascore

With Woolfenden’s gametime limited at Portman Road, naturally there was interest from other clubs.

Sheffield United were attributed with interest, as well as more exotic destinations such as MLS outfit Inter Miami.

Inter Miami, owned by former England star David Beckham, currently boast a squad of seasoned internationals such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Lionel Messi.

Woolfenden quickly quashed suggestions that he was wanted by Inter Miami, but did confirm to the East Anglian Daily Times that there had been interest from other clubs, including Sheffield United.

Asked by the EADT about the rumours linking him to Sheffield United and Inter Miami, Woolfenden shared: “There’s interest most windows. I think that’s part and parcel of being a footballer.

“The Inter Miami one was a bit wide of the mark because otherwise I’m not sure I’d be sitting here! I’d be playing with Messi!

“So I’m not sure that one was true, but there was certainly interest from elsewhere.”

Sheffield United have been long-term admirers of Luke Woolfenden

It is not the first time Sheffield United have looked to sign Woolfenden, with the defender first catching their eye in 2020.

At the time, Ipswich were plying their trade in League One, whilst the Blades were in the Premier League during current manager Chris Wilder’s first stint in charge.

Back in 2020, Woolfenden addressed the transfer speculation, sharing: “It’s nice to be linked with big clubs but I’m focused on taking Ipswich back to where we should be.

“I don’t really get involved in all of that (transfer talk). Everybody knows what I’m like. There’s been no bids so there’s nothing to worry about.

“Everyone’s dream and goal is to play as high as they possibly can and for me I obviously want to play in the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean I want to leave right now.

“Ipswich is a massive club so if I could get to the Premier League with Ipswich it would be unbelievable.

“Ipswich Town shouldn’t be in League One so to get them promoted, as an Ipswich lad, would be massive.”

But things quickly changed for Woolfenden when Paul Cook replaced Paul Lambert as manager.

He found himself training with the Tractor Boys’ reserves, believing his future to lie elsewhere.

Woolfenden shared: “I was training with the Under 23s most of the time so I was nailed on to go.

“I was waking up most mornings and wanting to be anywhere else other than Ipswich.”

However, it would take until 2025 for the Blades to reignite their interest in the defender.

But Sheffield United’s hopes of signing the 26-year-old have been diminished by the fact that Woolfenden has signed a new deal with Ipswich.

The centre-back had been set to be out of contract this summer, but will now remain at his first professional club until the summer of 2027.

“I’ve said over the last few years that this is probably the best place to be in the Football League,” continued Woolfenden.

“It’s a club that, besides the manager, has a lot of ambition behind it with the owners, with Mark (Ashton), that it’s driven to keep this club where it is now. So it was a really good feeling to get the contract done.

“I’ve said numerous times that I love working here under the boss and the coaching staff.

“Every session is enjoyable. You don’t need to play every game here to improve as a player, whereas at other clubs you might have a bit of a jolly up and just go through the motions. Here we’re bang at it every day.”

The life of a Premier League footballer can be glamorous and exciting, but there’s often a craving for normality.

That’s what defender Dara O’Shea had on his 26th birthday on Tuesday, the day after Ipswich Town’s FA Cup exit at Nottingham Forest.

Asked what he did to celebrate, he replied: “I was just back home with my son going to the playground. It was nothing crazy, normal life.”

The focus has shifted since then. Town’s Premier League campaign has been pretty brutal, and they face another daunting test this weekend as they head to in-form Crystal Palace.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” O’Shea said. “Going away to Selhurst Park, it’s a tough ground to go to. They are in good form as well, so we know they will be right up for it.

“It’s probably a game where there won’t be much in it, similar to the home fixture for ourselves.

“It’s going to be a front-foot game, quite attacking and aggressive. It’s a game we’re looking forward

 

“They have some really good one-v-one players, technically very good. They are really sharp and quick.

“It’s going to be a big task for us to keep them quiet. They have been doing so well recently, so we’ll try and limit their strengths as best as possible.

“They are big on one-v-ones, so trying to get two-v-ones ourselves and trying to counteract their main threats will be important for us.”

The season has gone fairly quickly for those watching from afar, but it’s been quite gruelling at times for O’Shea, who played through much of the early stages of the campaign with a nasty back injury.

That has since subsided, and the centre-back is finally feeling back to his best.

“I’ve been pain free, thankfully, for a little while now, which has been great,” he revealed.

“As a footballer, you’re never really pain free, as such, but that back injury was a tough moment for me.

“It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad that I’m through the other end of it now and looking forward.”

While O’Shea has managed to overcome his injury, other team-mates are still struggling. One of them is Axel Tuanzebe, who’s missed a number of games with different issues.

 

The Blues are visibly stronger when he’s fit and available, and O’Shea is well aware how important he’s been to them this season.

“Whenever Axel doesn’t play, he’s a massive miss to us,” he admitted. “Every time he’s played this season, he’s put a great shift in. He’s really steady in that position, offering us a lot going forward and defensively too, which is massive.

“It’s quite a big position for us as a team, the way we play, the way we shift the back four.

“For him, he’ll maybe be disappointed with the games he’s been unavailable for this season. A lot of them have been out of his control – it’s been disappointing.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing alongside him personally. He’s quite an experienced player, he’s quick and he’s strong too.

“It’s nice for me to play alongside him.”

Town’s injury list is long, with almost half of their Premier League squad dealing with some sort of knock, niggle or worse. Given their current position in the table, it certainly isn’t ideal.

 

Manager Kieran McKenna is understandably feeling the effects of it, and O’Shea has understandably believes that it hasn’t been ideal for the players either.

“It’s not easy when you have players coming in and coming out,” he claimed. “You’d like to have everyone fit and available, making your choice off that for selection.

“Every team in the Premier League has these problems, it’s probably just been a bit like that for us in recent weeks, we’re feeling it a bit more.

“As a defender, you want to play with people consistently to build that relationship, but for us in our squad, we’ve almost got two players in every position who are really good players, comfortable and able to come in at any time.

“That’s important for us, and keeping everybody fit and available at the time, giving them the best opportunity to come in and put performances in.”

Nonetheless, there are plenty of positives to take from the last week or so. Town conceded little in the way of open-play opportunities against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, but they ended up paying the price from set pieces.

 

O’Shea, as a centre-back, has a big part to play in clearing those balls from the penalty area, but his side have fallen short in that regard recently. The trip to Old Trafford saw them come unstuck in a way that fans have rarely seen under McKenna.

“Up until the Manchester United game, we’ve been really solid defensively, set-play wise,” he stated. “It hasn’t really been a problem.

“You can have games like that where they come and things just aren’t right. For us, it’s about taking confidence in how well we’ve done up until that point.

“The manager touched on it during the week – we’d rather concede three set plays in one week than three set plays in three different games.

“It’s important for us to learn from that game against United and push on. The Forest game as well, it’s technically a set piece too, which is disappointing.

“Throughout the season, we’ve been so good at them, so we’ve got to get back to that and keep doing what we’re best at in those situations.

“We have to learn from the previous games and what we can improve on in that way too.”

Without a league win in 2025, it’s clear that Ipswich need things to improve quickly if they are to stand any chance of catching Wolves and climbing out of the relegation zone.

O’Shea has been in this position before, having been relegated with West Brom and Burnley in previous years. He’s taken a lot from those experiences, but believes that the feeling around Ipswich is different.

“For me personally, it’s quite strange,” he reflected. “I’m obviously in the same position as I have been before, but it doesn’t feel like I’m in that position as such.

O’Shea is confident heading into the final 11 games of the season 

“I think the whole club and the belief around the group isn’t one of us being in a relegation battle, that things are piling up on top of us. That’s important for us, to keep that same mindset throughout this.

“There’s going to be pressure put on us if we don’t get points on the board. The easiest way to keep the pressure off is to get points on the board and stop that mindset.

“It’s not a nice place to be, and obviously I’ve been there twice before, so I’m trying to use all the experience that I’ve had in these situations and add them to the group.

“Lots of the other lads too, they have been in similar scenarios. It’s tough, it’s not easy. Things have to change.

“As long as we go into each week with the same mindset and mentality, that we’re pushing towards having a positive result and keep doing things right, I think that’s important for us.

“That will put us in good stead towards the end of the season.”

There are many who have written Ipswich off already. They are big favourites to finish in the bottom three, and it will be the third relegation on O’Shea’s CV if it happens.

However, he’s adamant that they are in a good position to finish the campaign in style, which means that there’s a strong belief in the squad that they won’t drop back down to the Championship.

“At the moment, we’re in that position,” he noted. “Nothing is written in the stars, I don’t think we’re going to get relegated and the lads think that too.

“For me, it’s just a matter of time before we start moving on up. We’ve been close, so I don’t think it will be the third time.

“That’s the last thing I want, to get another one. I definitely feel confident in the group that we can turn things around.”