Rangers have secured John Souttar to a pre-contract agreement – and his club Heart of Midlothian have been left absolutely stunned by his Ibrox move.
That’s according to The Scottish Daily Mail (15/01, back page), who claim that Hearts can’t believe Souttar has gone to Rangers.
That’s because Souttar indicated to them that he wanted to leave Hearts for a move to England instead of joining Rangers.
Souttar has done a complete U-turn though, and decided to sign for Rangers on a pre-contract agreement that will kick in this summer.
Hearts are willing to sell Souttar now for £500,000 to get money in, but whether Rangers choose to pay that or not remains to be seen.
Souttar, 25, has enjoyed a fine season with Hearts but few can really blame him for taking a big move now.
The defender has bounced back from three achilles tears to turn in an impressive season with Hearts and even score for Scotland against Denmark in November.
Having been through injury hell in recent years, Souttar will know that he needs to take the big contracts when they come.
Rangers have clearly offered Souttar an attractive deal, especially if it has forced him to re-think his stance on a move to Ibrox.
English Championship clubs would have likely offered plenty of money to Souttar but Rangers have convinced him to choose Glasgow.
This is a great move for Rangers even if it comes with a fair amount of risk.
The worst case scenario would be Souttar suffering another injury and missing many games in his upcoming stay at Rangers.
It’s ultimately worth the gamble though, especially on a free transfer.
Connor Goldson is out of contract this summer, as is Leon Balogun. Jack Simpson and Nikola Katic may never play for Rangers again.
Adding Souttar gives Rangers, at very worst, great depth at the back and a proven Scottish Premiership player.
At best, Rangers have a new star to build the heart of their defence around without paying a penny in transfer fees.
Rangers will need more defensive options, but Souttar is a great start to the summer recruitment.
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