Aston Villa are reportedly interested in bringing Hearts defender John Souttar to the club.
Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi celebrates with manager Steve Bruce
Aston Villa have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Hearts defender John Souttar, with the Scottish Premiership side issuing a hands off warning to the Midlands outfit, for the time being at least, according to the Daily Record.
The Scotland under-21 international has received high acclaim for his impressive performances for Hearts since he made the move to Tynecastle from Dundee United in February.
Scotland’s John Souttar in action
Hearts boss Robbie Nelson spoke to the Daily Record, and insisted that Souttar is going nowhere, for the time being at least, and that the youngster should focus on establishing himself in Scotland before he considers a move to England:
“We see his future at Hearts. John understands he still has another couple of years to do here, to mature, get more physical and learn as a defender. You can see the progression he’s made since coming to Hearts but, even with that, he can still move up a few steps before he is ready to move down south. It would be jumping the gun to talk about him leaving now. We have no interest in selling him and he has no interest in leaving.”
John Souttar in action during his time with Dundee United
New Villa boss Steve Bruce has made an instant impact at Villa Park, leading his side to two wins and a draw from the three games he has taken charge of thus far.
There is obviously a long way to go, as Bruce attempts clear up the mess left behind by Roberto Di Matteo, but whether that includes new player recruitment in January or not is another matter.
Next up for the Villans is a trip to St Andrews to take on arch rivals Birmingham City on Sunday, and a win will see them make a substantial rise up the Championship table.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
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