Shankland comes to Parsland

Dunfermline have today completed the loan signing of Aberdeen player Lawrence Shankland

Dunfermline have today completed the loan signing of Aberdeen player Lawrence Shankland, the clubs agreeing a deal until the end of the season.

Pars boss Jim Jefferies confirmed the 18-year-old has trained with the Pars this week and will be available to face Stranraer on Saturday. The gaffer claimed that he had fought off the attentions of a Championship club to land the highly-rated Scotland under-19 international.

Jim Jefferies said:-

"There were a few clubs in for the player and keen on his signature, one from the Championship, but we had already spoken to Derek McInnes on a couple of occasions about him.

"Derek has needed him to be on the bench for the first team in the last couple of games but now Lawrence is available and we are grateful to Aberdeen for letting him make the move to Dunfermline.

"Lawrence is still a young boy, he is still learning, but hopefully he will come in and score a few goals for us. He trained with us on Tuesday morning with a view to taking him on loan from Aberdeen."

Shankland netted 15 goals for Queen's Park last season that prompted Aberdeen to stump up a compensation package in the close season to take the teenager to Pittodrie ? where he is yet to make his competitive debut.

When Aberdeen signed the Queens Park striker, Manager Derek McInnes said that he was a player he had been keeping an eye on for a while.

"This signing is all about potential and I do feel we have a chance to work with a player who is desperate to be full time and prove himself. He is one certainly we feel with the right coaching and nurturing he could make an impact for us in the first team.

"There is no pressure on him to be that right away. We would not expect that but we will do all we can to help him improve as he goes along.

"He is a good size and has a good goal return. He has a lot to learn but we do feel he is a very good signing."

Lawrence was at Queens Park for five years before joining Aberdeen He made his first team debut while only 16 and became a regular in the side throughout the following season. He made 38 appearances that season (2012-13) scoring 15 times including against Rangers in the Glasgow derby at Hampden Park.

The on loan signing said:-

"I made my debut against Elgin at Hampden. It was certainly a great place to make your debut! It was a great experience playing at Hampden. With Rangers playing in the league last season I got to experience playing in front of a big crowd at the national stadium and also playing on TV. That was all good for my development.

"Queens Park has an excellent youth system and they have brought through quite a number of boys. Although they are an amateur club they are very professional in the way they are set up. They are a very good club and I really enjoyed my time there.

"It was at the end of the season when Gardner Speirs called me in and said Aberdeen were interested in me. At that stage he did not know if there was anything concrete in it but then I found out Derek was interested in me. As soon as I spoke to him I knew I wanted to come here and move onto the next stage of my career.

"To do that I felt like I needed first team football to improve and develop my game and to get to a higher level.

"The Third Division was certainly not a little boys league! You get a lot of kicks and bruises but I learned a lot from the experience. It made me a lot wiser and a better player. It was good for me and as I say I thoroughly enjoyed my time there."