An extra layer of interest has been added to the Premiership fixture between Rangers and Hearts in early February after the Gers reached a pre-contract agreement with John Souttar.
After months of speculation, Rangers confirmed on Friday evening that Souttar will be moving to Ibrox in the summer.
It’s an excellent piece of business, particularly given the importance of strengthening at centre-back ahead of next season.
Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun are both set to be out of contract at the end of the current campaign, while it’s unlikely that either Jack Simpson or loanee Niko Katic have long-term futures at Ibrox.
Therefore, it’s comforting for fans to know that a blossoming international with plenty of experience of Premiership football will be bolstering the ranks.
The news hasn’t gone down quite so well in Edinburgh, though.
When it was reported that a deal was close, Hearts fans went into meltdown, and when the Jambos issued a statement confirming the deal, it received hundreds of negative responses on Twitter.
Extra intrigue added to Rangers vs Hearts
Souttar is now in an awkward position.
His manager Robbie Neilson previously claimed it would take a ‘crazy’ bid to convince them to sell this month and Hearts referred to him as an ‘important’ member of the first-team squad in their statement.
But his situation sits in stark contrast to that of many of his teammates, with the likes of Craig Halkett, Michael Smith and Stephen Kingsley all committing their futures to Hearts recently, and heavy criticism from supporters beckons over the coming months.
With Hearts travelling to Ibrox to face Rangers in three weeks’ time, it’ll be interesting to see how Neilson plays it.
Rarely are opposition players welcomed onto the pitch in Govan but Souttar is likely to get a good reception that afternoon if he’s named in the visitors’ starting XI.
Neilson could opt to leave the centre-back in the capital, but that would substantially lower his team’s chances of success.
There is an alternative situation and that is that Rangers stump up some cash and Souttar instead turns out for the home team.
The Daily Mail have reported [via the Daily Record] that for £500,000 plus ‘significant’ add-ons, the 25-year-old could become a Ger this month.
Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe mentioned Jimmy Bell in a brilliant farewell Rangers message live on Sky Sports.
