The Daily Record has reported where Hearts centre-back John Souttar’s mind is at regarding a potential transfer after Celtic were linked earlier this week.
Souttar is into the final year of his Jambos deal and can be snapped up on a pre-contract for nothing in the summer. The Scottish Sun reported on Monday night that Celtic were one of many clubs interested in the player’s services.
However, the Record reports that Souttar’s mind is swaying towards a move to England. The player has yet to make a final decision on his next transfer, but the report lists as many as 9 English lower-league clubs credited with an interest.
Interestingly, there doesn’t appear to be any English Premier League interest in the player as things stand. It will be intriguing to see whether that affects Souttar’s final decision.
But it doesn’t seem as though the Celtic interest has made him crave a move to Glasgow any more than a switch down south. That comes as a bit of a surprise, but it remains to be seen where he finally ends up.
The Hearts supporters launched into some bizarre conspiracy theories over the Souttar to Celtic link yesterday. Even at this early stage, they appear in denial at the prospect of any Parkhead switch for the player.
John Souttar to Celtic remains a realistic possibility
Souttar to Celtic is hardly a ridiculous notion even if he’s currently eyeing up a move to English football. After all, it could easily be a different story when he has a life-changing deal on the table from Parkhead.
Celtic will be a club that’s a lot easier to snub when the contract isn’t in front of you. After all, with Souttar being robbed 2 years of his career due to injury, you can’t blame him for wanting to chase the pound signs.
Looking at the list of clubs interested in the Tynecastle centre-back, not one of them is bigger than Celtic. Not one offers a more attractive package than what a move to Ange Postecoglou’s side would.
Of course, it’s important to remember that there’s nothing on the table for Souttar just yet. There’s been no confirmation that Postecoglou definitely wants to add him to his defensive ranks. It could still be the case that Ange sees no real reason to bolster the centre-back position further.
So there are still plenty of unanswered questions before we even get to Souttar’s final decision. You also feel there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge before he makes his move final too.
For now, the player deserves the time and space for him to make the best decision for his career. Hopefully, Celtic can see this is a wise long-term investment.
In other news, Report: Rivals embarrassingly show their Celtic pettiness again with BT Sport
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