Rangers made one last attempt to sign John Souttar to transfer deadline day in a move that never really looked like it was going to happen.
Hearts boss Robbie Neilson had always appeared to be playing hardball by suggesting that the Scotland international was a key player and that he was too valuable to his side’s hopes of finishing third in the league, although this didn’t stop Ross Wilson from asking the question one last time.
When asked if Rangers had made any late bids he said, as reported by Football Scotland:
“Not later on, but we did have a bid but it got knocked out again.
“It was not anywhere near what we were looking for, to be honest with you.
“So we knew that right from the start.
“I spoke about trying to be strong and keep John here, unless we got an offer which we felt was right.
”We stuck to our guns right the way through and thankfully, John is still here.
“He will be a big part of our run-in. John understands the situation and he’s committed to the club.”
There’s no real harm done, the biggest problem is that we still have to play Hearts twice and might have to face Souttar in the opposition, a situation that could be awkward for both parties.
Souttar missed the goalless draw with Hibs on Tuesday night after failing a late fitness test following a knock he received on his ankle during the previous match, hopefully it’s nothing sinister but it would be a surprise if Neilson threw him back into the team when Rangers are up next.
Ultimately, Hearts have done nothing different to what we would have done with Connor Goldson should any offers have come in for him – the money we could make by him staying far outweighs the money he would have made by leaving.