As Rangers nervously await the outcome of an injury to Leon Balogun, and Hearts once again stumble in the Scottish Premiership, it appears there could no winners in the John Souttar debacle.
This season at least.
Rangers failed with anywhere up to three bids to take the Scotland international to Ibrox with the final one said to reach up to £400k.
There were murmurs that Hearts wanted £600k – with rumours of a sell-on clause – for a player Rangers will be getting for nothing come the end of the season.
The caveat of course is that by paying the money John Souttar could’ve emboldened our title charge this campaign.
But the Gers refused to be held to ransom and it is now clear Hearts won’t be recouping a penny on a player who continues to be lambasted by a salty support aggrieved Souttar is moving on to bigger and better things.
Rangers do however have issues at centre-back and these were once again highlighted the moment that Leon Balogun went off the park against Hibs.
Leon Balogun being assessed after latest Rangers injury
A commanding presence in the opening exchanges of the eventual 2-0 win at Ibrox, it was a massive boost to see Leon back powering through headers and winning challenges and the Nigerian international certainly looked the part.
But early on in the game Leon Balogun went down clutching his hamstring and any extended absence will be a major blow to a Rangers side down to the defensive bare bones.
Calvin Bassey moved inside and was immediately more unassured, his early composure at centre-back taking a knock as of late and the ex-Leicester kid somewhat struggling to regain it.
Issues remain with his ability to head the ball, something of an essential to be a solid defender in Scotland.
But perhaps more worryingly was the introduction of the timid and completely confidence-shot Borna Barisic, who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole from the moment he got on the pitch.
His decision-making is shot, his concentration is all over the place, this is a player who is either a) mentally incapable or playing for us at present or b) nervously counting down the days to do the bunk in the summer.
If Borna cannot regain his composure and contribute to this campaign then his legacy at Rangers is under threat; we need him to get over whatever is going on and fast.
But whilst putting Bassey out left was a solution, manager van Bronckhorst confirmed post-match that the Gers are ‘assessing’ the situation with Leon Balogun. Let’s hope for good news.
Rangers-bound John Souttar returns in Hearts defeat
Across the M8, John Souttar returned for Hearts as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to relegation candidates Dundee after a short stint on the sidelines.
It means the Jambos have one win in five and whilst still clear favourites for 3rd spot – and remarkably having lost no ground or the ten points that separate themselves and 4th – nerves are jangling a little at Tynecastle.
For all his success over the last few years Robbie Neilson remains unfancied by some and Hearts will need to quell their recent downturn sharpish or there will be regrets aplenty in Edinburgh.
Not just because missing out on 3rd place could see them miss out on the Europa League group stages, but because turning down £400k and keeping John Souttar didn’t make a difference.
Likewise for Rangers and John Souttar himself, if the season doesn’t pan out as planned then there could wind up no winners from Hearts’ stubborn transfer stance.
Here’s our match report for the victory over Hibs as Rangers continue to keep up the pressure at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
