Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland says he is fulfilling his “dream” of joining “boyhood club” Rangers after completing his transfer from Scottish Premiership rivals Heart of Midlothian.
The 30-year-old, who has agreed a two-year deal at Ibrox with the option of a further 12 months, scored 88 goals in 171 appearances across four campaigns at Tynecastle.
And he captained the Edinburgh side to second place this season, missing out on the title to Celtic on the final day, with Rangers in third, eight points behind Hearts.
Shankland will miss out on Champions League qualifiers with Hearts but told Rangers TV: “Rangers is my boyhood club and it has always been a dream to play here, so I was really keen to get it done.
“The club are in a position where they want to get back to winning silverware more regularly and I want to be a big part of that, so that’s what I have come here to do.”
Shankland was out of contract at Hearts last summer – and was linked with a move to Ibrox then – before signing a three-year deal in late June.
The former Queen’s Park, Aberdeen, Ayr United, Dundee United and Beerschot forward went on to hit 20 goals in 34 games in all competitions, including four against Rangers, as Derek McInnes’ side chased a first title since 1960.
Rangers head coach Danny Rohl said: “He is a player with proven quality, leadership and work ethic – and his goalscoring record in Scotland speaks for itself.
“He understands the demands and expectations that come with playing for Rangers and we believe his character and experience will be a huge asset for the group.”
Immediately after completing his transfer, Shankland, who has scored four times in 18 Scotland outings, will join Steve Clarke’s squad for the World Cup.
“I wish him well at the World Cup this summer and look forward to welcoming him back to Glasgow during pre-season,” Rohl added.
Jose Mourinho completed an unbeaten league season with Benfica but had to settle for third place in the Portuguese top-flight.
Benfica beat Estoril 3-1 in their final match of the campaign as they ended their undefeated Primeira Liga campaign with 23 wins, 11 draws and no defeats.
However, they finished on 80 points – eight behind champions Porto and two behind second-placed Sporting.
The victory against Estoril could be Mourinho’s final game in charge of Benfica as he is in final negotiations to become Real Madrid manager, 13 years after his first spell at the Bernabeu.
The 63-year-old joined Portuguese side Benfica as manager on a two-year contract last September, but is wanted by Real president Florentino Perez.
This is not the first time Benfica have gone a league season unbeaten and ended up trophyless.
In 1977-78, Porto drew two games fewer and pipped them to the league title on goal difference.
Mourinho’s Benfica have join FC Sheriff in Moldova (2024-25) and Serbian side Red Star Belgrade (2007-08) as the only European sides this century to miss out on a league title despite going an entire season without losing.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
An example of the U.K. Royal Air Force’s most iconic fighter, the Spitfire, flew in a series of air-to-air formations around the United Kingdom over the last two weeks, part of the 90th anniversary celebrations for the aircraft, which became legendary on account of its service in World War II. The nine-leg flight around the United Kingdom was completed Friday.
The Spitfire in question, a two-seater, was painted blue to represent the first prototype, K5054. The original K5054 first flew on March 5, 1936, and was piloted by Capt. Joseph “Mutt” Summers. It took off from Eastleigh Aerodrome, now Southampton Airport.
On this day in 1936 was the prototype Spitfire’s maiden flight. Captain Joseph “Mutt” Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers, took off in K5054 from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport). pic.twitter.com/7bbjlOBGxf
Popular history records that Summers uttered the words “I don’t want anything touched” when he climbed down from the cockpit. If he did say those words, it was almost certainly an instruction to the ground crew to leave the plane as it was before he took it up for his next test sortie. But the legend stuck.
Spitfire “K5054” seen during transit to RAF Coningsby in the UK. Crown Copyright
Regardless, so promising was the new fighter that the Air Ministry placed a production order less than three months later, with trials still incomplete.
Eventually, more than 20,000 production examples would be built, and the Spitfire would be considered among the best all-round fighters of World War II, in which it played a key role from start to finish. The Royal Air Force didn’t fly its last operational Spitfire sortie until 1954, in Malaya.
The blue Spitfire seen in the accompanying images is actually a Mk IX, BS410, which crashed in May 1943, was recovered and rebuilt in the 2000s, and was converted into a two-seater, allowing for a passenger. It is currently privately owned.
Starting on April 7, the K5054-lookalike Spitfire joined up in the air with a host of modern types.
For the first flight, the Royal Air Force’s most advanced fighter, the F-35B Lightning, flew in formation with the Spitfire. This came just a matter of weeks after British F-35Bs shot down their first enemy aircraft — hostile drones over Jordan, during the conflict in the Middle East.
The formation flight involved two frontline F-35Bs from RAF Marham and two preserved Spitfires.
Spitfire “K5054” seen here alongside two F-35Bs from RAF Marham. Crown Copyright
Spitfire AB910 seen during transit to RAF Coningsby in the UK. Crown CopyrightSpitfires AB910 and “K5054” seen during transit to RAF Coningsby in the UK. Crown Copyright
For the first leg of its flight, the K5054-lookalike Spitfire flew from its birthplace of Southampton Airport to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, still a major fighter hub.
While the Spitfire and F-35 could hardly be more different in terms of performance and technologies, both have served the Royal Air Force as its premier frontline fighter. Like its forebear, the F-35B is also now proven in aerial combat, albeit against drones.
On March 6 this year, the Royal Air Force announced that an F-35B pilot had carried out the aircraft’s first combat shootdown in British hands, intercepting and destroying two hostile drones during an operation over Jordan the same week.
An F-35B from No. 617 Squadron at RAF Akrotiri. Crown Copyright
“The pilot, flying alongside two Typhoons from RAF Akrotiri, detected the drones on radar and engaged them with two ASRAAM missiles,” the Royal Air Force said in its statement. The pilot, although assigned to No. 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, was serving with the Royal Navy, reflecting the joint nature of the U.K. F-35B force.
Flight two, out of RAF Coningsby, on April 8, saw the Spitfire fly alongside Royal Air Force Red Arrows Hawks and a Phenom T1 trainer.
The Red Arrows flying alongside the Spitfire on Day 2 of the commemorative tour of GB. Two Hawks accompanied her for part of the flight from RAF Coningsby to Leuchars Station. (Photo: Darren Harbar) #Spitfire90pic.twitter.com/Y4ioabXnoI
The third flight, out of RAF Leuchars, on April 9, involved a Royal Air Force P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
Spitfire and Poseidon over Scotland. Crown Copyright
Flight four, on April 10, brought the Spitfire to Scotland, where it flew out of RAF Lossiemouth with a pair of Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters.
A Spitfire and Typhoons seen at RAF Lossiemouth. Crown Copyright
Remaining in Scotland, the fifth flight, on April 13, out of Prestwick Airport, teamed the Spitfire with a Royal Air Force Hawk T2 trainer.
Flight six, on April 14, out of RAF Valley, Wales, involved the Spitfire and two current Royal Air Force training types: a Texan T1 turboprop and a Jupiter HT1 helicopter.
The Spitfire alongside a Texan T1. Crown Copyright
Flight seven, on April 15, out of MOD St Athan, provided a formation with two QinetiQ Pilatus PC-21 trainers.
Flight eight, on April 16, out of MOD St Mawgan, involved a Royal Air Force A400M transport.
Crown Copyright
For the ninth and final flight, on April 17, the Spitfire departed Exeter Airport and met up alongside the BBMF’s Dakota as it flew back to Southampton Airport.
For the final flight, the Spitfire was joined by a Dakota for a flight from Exeter to Southampton. Crown Copyright
While not unique, the Royal Air Force doesn’t regularly pair current and historic fighters for displays in the way the U.S. Air Force does with its Heritage Flight. This puts together formations of modern jets flying with fighters from the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War eras, such as the P-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre.
A U.S. Air Force F-35A flies with a pair of P-51 Mustangs and a P-38 Lightning as the Heritage Flight at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Staci Miller
This makes the series of Spitfire flights all the more special. On each of these flights, one lucky (and deep-pocketed) passenger was in the backseat of the Spitfire, having bid for the chance to do so. The money earned will go to support service-related charities.
For the rest of us, we can enjoy some of the spectacular imagery captured as this special Spitfire completed its countrywide odyssey.
