Rangers may already have replaced Connor Goldson by lining up the signing of John Souttar, Pete O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport.
The lowdown
Last month, the Scottish defender finalised a pre-contract agreement with the Gers, and he is set to join the Premiership champions when his deal at Hearts expires in the summer (via BBC Sport).
Valued at £900,000 by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old has amassed 178 Premiership appearances and won four caps for Scotland.
Like Souttar, Goldson is also out of contract at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. In a recent article for The Athletic, Rangers correspondent Jordan Campbell wrote that the 29-year-old is expected to leave as a free agent in the summer.
The latest
O’Rourke feels that Souttar may be able to step in and instantly fill in the void left by Goldson’s prospective exit from Rangers.
The journalist told GiveMeSport: “With John Souttar coming in from Hearts, he maybe could be a ready-made replacement for Goldson at centre-back.”
The verdict
How similar are the two players from a stylistic point of view?
According to WhoScored, they both excel at passing, but whereas Goldson likes to play it short, Souttar prefers to attempt long balls. If Giovanni van Bronckhorst asks the latter to build more slowly from the back, the 25-year-old may then need to adapt his game.
Encouragingly, both players are equally as dominant in aerial duels, winning 71% apiece (Goldson/Souttar via SofaScore).
While you may wonder why Rangers did not cash in on the £7.2m-rated Goldson while they had the chance, they appear to have found an experienced and immediate successor without needing to splash out on a transfer fee themselves.
In other news, Jordan Campbell hints that more business is needed after this player ‘struggled’ on Sunday
