Leicester City coach Enzo Maresca is hinting that Harry Souttar will be offered a fresh start in the Championship after his move to Scottish giants Rangers fell through on deadline day.
Depending on who you believe, Rangers’ inability to reunite John Souttar with his younger brother at Ibrox was the result of that Champions League hammering at PSV Eindhoven, their failure to first move on fellow centre-half Ben Davies, or maybe a combination of both.
Missing out on a seat at Europe’s top table certainly didn’t aid Rangers’ cause. According to Football Scotland, that Philipps Stadium hammering meant Mick Beale‘s side could no longer meet Souttar’s salary demands.
Furthermore, Rangers deemed Stoke City’s offer for the out-of-favour Davies insufficient (Rangers Review); the man who’s place Souttar would have taken remaining north of the border.
As such, the similarly seldom-seen Harry Souttar finds himself stuck at Leicester until January at the earliest. Not that Pep Guardiola’s former Manchester City assistant and dead ringer Enzo Maresca is ready to completely write off his £15 million Australia international.
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“In the moment that the transfer window closes, all the players that are here, it’s like a reset. A restart,” Maresca tells the Leicester Mercury; a ‘clean slate’ heading the way of Souttar and co.
“It is what it is. If you want to leave, you don’t leave, and you stay, it is what it is. It’s not because of me or because of the club or because of the player. It’s a mix between all of us.
“The moment you decide to leave and you don’t leave, you have to stay.”
Former Dundee United youngster Souttar certainly faces an uphill battle forcing his way into Maresca’s plans, however. He was conspicuous by his absence yet again as Leicester’s unbeaten start to the new Championship campaign was wrecked by surprise packages Hull City one day after the close of the window this weekend.