If Rangers want to sign John Souttar they will have to move fast.
A report in The Daily Record claims that the Hearts centre-half is a target for Premier League hopefuls Blackburn Rovers, amongst other Championship sides.
He has, reportedly, already held talks about joining his brother in England and, as we have seen before with the likes of John McGinn, taking a step back to step forwards can sometimes pay dividends – the clubs mentioned may not be as big as Rangers or offer the prospect of European football but the chance of playing in the Premier League can be too much for some to turn down, after all, not every player wants to play Livingston or Ross County four times a season for their whole career.
If I was Ross Wilson, I’d still make an effort to persuade Souttar. Even if Connor Goldson walks away at the end of his contract, a central defence that consisted of a combination of Filip Helander, Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun and Souttar would still be pretty strong.
Should Goldson stay we would then be in the position of not needing to rely on Balogun for another season – his body is creaking and Father Time is definitely catching up on him, Souttar is, arguably, a better player as well.
This is all without considering the added bonus of having another homegrown player in the squad, a strategy that needs some subtle adjustments in certain positions.
This transfer remains one that is a no-brainer, low cost and of high quality – someone is getting a bargain, let’s hope Souttar doesn’t become our McGinn.