Rangers tipped to spend ‘a lot of money’ to complete Souttar deal after update – McLeish
Alex McLeish has tipped Rangers to pay “a lot of money” to sign John Souttar from Hearts this month.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Gers boss suggested a move this month would be best for all parties after the 25-year-old agreed a pre-contract deal with the Glasgow giants.
Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as quoted by the Daily Record on Thursday (20 January), refused to rule out Souttar joining before the end of the month.
As reported by the Scottish Sun on Monday (17 January), Hearts are demanding £500,000 for Souttar, with manager Robbie Neilson admitting a deal could be done.
McLeish insisted both the clubs and the player would want to make a move happen.
“I think Hearts are looking for a few bob and rightly so,” McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge.
“But his contract is up and they have to do some kind of deal, even if it’s in the six figures. There’s got to be some recompense and I think Rangers would probably be happy to see him at Ibrox before the summer.
“Anything can happen between now and then. He could get a really bad injury, something could happen again.
“I do believe that he’s a very strong individual and he’ll still play his part for Hearts. It makes sense to take some money and he goes to Rangers.
“It sounds a lot of money (£500,000). In England, it’s a pittance but in Scotland, it’s a wee bit more important. It can certainly help a club like Hearts.
“They have really been financed well by the directors and the owner. It would be nice to see Souttar moving across and Rangers having some kind of settlement with Hearts.”
Souttar has played 152 times for Hearts across all competitions.
He also has four caps for Scotland under his belt.
In other news, Rangers exit tipped for this month after source’s update.