Rangers under no pressure to blink first in negotiations with Hearts over move for John Souttar this month

With seven days of the January transfer window remaining, the smart money probably remains on John Souttar starting February as a Rangers player.

Hearts assistant manager Lee McCulloch shares a light-hearted moment with Rangers-bound defender John Souttar during a training session at Oriam on Monday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

It’s pretty much in the interest of all parties concerned, not least Souttar himself, that the pre-contract agreement he has signed with the Scottish champions is accelerated in the form of a permanent deal before next Monday night’s deadline.

But while talks continue in the background between Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson and his Hearts counterpart Joe Savage, it would be misleading to suggest the Ibrox club are under greater pressure to ensure negotiations are concluded successfully this month.

It’s perfectly understandable and wholly justified for Hearts to try and maximise a fee for the Scotland international defender. A figure north of £500,000 is understood to be what they are looking for.

Rangers central defenders Leon Balogun (left) and Connor Goldson (right) are both out of contract at the end of this season. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

That doesn’t automatically mean that Rangers, believed to regard £300,000 as more realistic, will have their hand forced and significantly up their offer in the coming days.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s preference would clearly be to get Souttar on board now, allowing the 25-year-old to settle into his squad as quickly as possible and offer him greater options in central defence for the second half of the season.

But if the Rangers manager has to wait until the summer to welcome Souttar, he will feel reasonably relaxed about the prospect of completing the current campaign successfully with his existing resources for the heart of his back four.

Connor Goldson, who looks increasingly likely to leave Rangers when his contract expires at the end of the season, remains their mainstay in central defence. The big Englishman’s performances since van Bronckhorst took charge in November have been of a consistently high standard and there has been no evidence of him being distracted by the uncertainty over his longer term future.

Goldson has been partnered most regularly in recent months by Calvin Bassey, the 22-year-old left-back displaying excellent versatility and impressing van Bronckhorst when switched to the central role.

Rangers now have Leon Balogun available again, the Nigerian international making his return from a back injury to make his first appearance under van Bronckhorst in the Scottish Cup win over Stirling Albion at Ibrox on Friday.

Filip Helander, who has been sidelined since September when he suffered a knee injury which required surgery, is also closing in on a return to action. The Swedish international is regarded by many observers as Rangers’ most effective all-round central defender and, when fit, has generally been first pick alongside Goldson.

Van Bronckhorst also has further back-up at his disposal in the shape of Jack Simpson, who made a rare appearance at left-back against Stirling Albion, but the player signed from Bournemouth 12 months ago has yet to present a convincing case for more regular involvement.

With Goldson set to depart in the summer and Balogun also in the final few months of his contract, John Souttar is clearly ready to be one of the key men in central defence for Rangers. But as the brinkmanship continues over whether that happens sooner rather than later, there is no certainty that Rangers will blink first.

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