According to the latest reports from Daily Record, John Souttar of Hearts of Midlothian has emerged as Rangers’ top defensive target for the upcoming summer transfer window. It is believed that Director of Football Mark Allen has identified him as a top target as Rangers look to bolster their squad for the upcoming summer transfer window.
Why do Rangers need to improve?
Rangers are likely to come up short in the title race as they are currently 11 points behind Celtic. They lost out to Aberdeen in both the domestic cup competitions, and many would claim that they are not even the second best side in Scotland right now.
The Bears were in the title race until January, but they have tapered off in the last few months as the players have been far too inconsistent with their performances. Therefore Rangers need to go after new signings to improve for the next season.
Why does Gerrard need to go after a centre back?
The Bears are set to lose Joe Worrall who is expected to return to his parent club Nottingham Forest in the summer. Gareth McAuley’s contract is also expiring soon, so that would leave Gerrard with just two centre back options. Therefore we expect the club to sign two centre backs in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Does Souttar fit the bill?
The 22-year-old is already a three-time Scottish international, and he could be termed as one of the best defenders in the Scottish Premiership. Souttar has played a massive role for Hearts this season as they led the table briefly during the initial phase of the season.
At just 22, he looks like an experienced operator as he is often composed under pressure and knows when to go into challenges and when to fall back. Physically he can cope up with the vigours of the Premiership, and there is no doubt that he would be a solid option for Rangers for years to come.
It is yet not clear how much Rangers might have to pay to sign this centre back. Souttar signed a new contract with the Jambos just a few months back in January which would keep him with Hearts until 2022. Therefore he is not going to come in cheap given the amount of time he still has on his contract.
Rangers though should look to do everything in their means to pull off this signing as Souttar has the potential to be the best defender in the Premiership. The kind of maturity he showcases at 22, suggests that the Scotsman has a big future ahead of him. It should be interesting to see whether that future would be with Rangers after he has emerged as their top defensive target.
