John Souttar should leave Hearts for Rangers in January – Richard Foster
BBC Sportscene pundit Richard Foster reckons Heart centre-back John Souttar has to join Rangers in January after agreeing a pre-contract ahead of the summer.
The Scotland international will move to Ibrox on a free at the end of 2021-22, and he was booed by Hearts fans in their 2-0 win over St Johnstone during the week as a result.
Heart are reportedly demanding around £500,000 from the Light Blues in order to allow Souttar to join them this month, and Foster believes that move simply has to happen.
He said on Sportscene: “I think he has to (go), especially for him, because if he’s playing Rangers in the last game of the season, he can stop them from winning the league, and a month or two later, he has to go and join up with them for pre-season. It’s a strange position to be in.”
Absolutely
Striking such a deal with a club outside Scotland would not have irked Heart fans, and Souttar has put himself in a very uncomfortable position.
His preference was always to move to Ibrox this month if he agreed to a deal [Daily Record], and the Premiership giants simply have to step in and help out.
With just four points between them and Celtic after their midweek draw against Aberdeen, Rangers have made things tough for themselves, and a fierce title race could now be on the cards.
Given the need to strengthen their defence, bringing in Souttar right now could help boost their title chances.
Failure to do so could actually deal a blow on it given that they could be facing Heart two more times this season, and their own player could stand in their way of picking up six crucial points.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst will definitely be pushing for the move, and while Heart will want to take advantage, the Bears do not have much of a choice.
Souttar could end up regretting his decision should a January move to Glasgow fall through, and Rangers must ensure that does not happen.
In other Rangers news, the BBC are facing a multi-million-pound defamation action over Gers documentary.