John Souttar, the 29-year-old Scotland international, is deliberating over his Ibrox exit with several English clubs vying for his signature.
The former Hearts centre-back was absent from Rangers’ pre-season training camp in Spain due to an impending move, which is thought to be close.
The big centre-back, who only just signed a short-term extension last season, won’t feature under Derek McInnes and now the offers are piling up from down south!
Championship vultures swooping for John Souttar
Sheffield United have thrown their hat in the ring, with Watford and Cardiff City also in contention for the experienced defender.
Multiple second-tier sides are said to be monitoring the situation closely.
League One Leicester City have been strongly linked, with Russell Martin at the helm, but it has been suggested that there is a reluctance from Souttar to drop down to the third tier in England.
John’s brother Harry is also currently at the King Power Stadium, but he too is the subject of onging transfer speculation.
Rangers are holding out for a seven-figure fee to let their Scotland World Cup member go, but with him out of the manager’s plans, a deal will be on the cards this summer.
The contract extension signed last season means Rangers are entitled to seek a fee for Souttar, but the price tag involved will not be prohibitive for the interested clubs.
Should John Souttar have been retained by McInnes?
There is a sound logical argument that Rangers are missing an experienced centre-back, to compliment Manny Fernandez, Ben Godfrey and potentially, Sankhoun Diawara.
Some would say that profile should be John Souttar, but it’s clear that he is not fancied by Derek McInnes or the player is wanting to be a first choice player.
That can’t be guaranteed at Ibrox and rightly so.
We all saw how last season unfolded with Souttar losing his place to Nasser Djiga for the climax to the season, and it feels like a natural end point for his time at Rangers.
It could also be said that Rangers and McInnes are willing to let Souttar leave because he doesn’t have the commanding, assured presence that is required.
An older, battle-hardened head would be an asset for the new-look squad, but only if there is an adequte return on the pitch.
Unfortunately, Souttar hasn’t been reliable enough in recent times.
The defensive line-up is a vital aspect for McInnes to get right, so it will be interesting to see what transpires in the coming weeks.
