Daniel Feliciano

Mon 10 January 2022 12:45, UK

Alex McLeish expects John Souttar to leave Hearts in January amid transfer interest from Rangers and several English clubs, he told Glasgow Times.

The 25-year-old central defender has entered the final six months of his contract with the Tynecastle club and has attracted interest from Premiership champions Rangers and clubs from England [Daily Record].

While clubs have made their approaches for a free transfer in the summer [Glasgow Times] , the player is said to be keen on leaving this month if a deal can be done.

Now former Rangers boss McLeish, who was speaking to Glasgow Times, believes that the smart money is on Hearts cashing in on January to make some extra cash.

“The smart money is on him leaving,” he said. “He has been a good servant for Hearts, but he is out of contract at the end of the season and I think they might look to make some collateral on him.

“He is a good age for a centre half, just 25. It will be interesting to see where he goes. I expect he will do well wherever it is.”

Push

A transfer for Souttar is inevitable at the moment, but whether that move happens in January or in the summer is still up in the air.

Rangers, Sheffield United and Stoke are all said to be interested in the centre-back public but his intentions are as yet unknown.

It’s been reported that he prefers a move to England, but he hasn’t ruled out a move to Glasgow where he would be replacing the outgoing Chris Goldson.

It’s clear that Souttar is a top target for the club but with so much interest in the ‘fantastic‘ player, they really need to make a push for the player this month to ensure they can get it over the line.

They can offer regular first-team football, regular European football and consistent challenges for trophies which will only help him with his standing for the national team too. It’s now just about convincing the defender of that.

In other Rangers news, Rangers made to wait as club ‘delay all decisions’ on potential loan deal – report