Ex-Rangers captain Barry Ferguson believes that the decision not to bring John Souttar’s move forward to January could cause issues for his former club.
Hearts were reportedly demanding £500,000 for Souttar last month, but the Gers fell short with two bids for the Scotland international. The defender will still sign on a free transfer in the summer but Ferguson believes it would have been smarter to get him in earlier:
“I was surprised the deal didn’t get done if I’m being honest. I think Gio was looking at it and, well, you don’t know that Balogun is going to get an injury. Should they have paid (the asking price) to get John Souttar in? I would’ve liked to have seen John Souttar in. Get him used to the surroundings, get him used to his teammates and then he could get off to a flyer at the start of next season.”
As Ferguson mentioned, an injury to Leon Balogun leaves the Gers pretty thin at the back, and it looks as though Calvin Bassey will have to fill in for the Borussia Dortmund tie this evening, with Filip Helander not in the Europa League squad.
Souttar may not have been included either, as clubs are only allowed to make three changes to the squad for the knockout rounds. However, having the centre-back available would have given manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst a great deal more flexibility heading into a busy fixture schedule.
