Pundit says Rangers ace is his nation’s ‘best’, better than £6.5m ex-Celtic man

It is certainly not a novel idea. Many an international manager, for a variety of reasons, have a tendency for choosing players they know and trust over those in-form.

Jordan Henderson, the much-maligned Ajax veteran, was certainly not selected for Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad on the back of his displays in the Eredivisie. France boss Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, was frequently lambasted for choosing Moussa Sissoko ahead of a litany of far more gifted midfield options.

Steve Clarke, meanwhile, can probably be forgiven – to some extent – for keeping the faith with the players who have provided the backbone of a Scotland side looking forward to success European Championship campaigns.

But, still, eyebrows were raised in the blue corner of Glasgow as Al-Ettifaq’s £6.5 million ex-Celtic man Jack Hendry and Watford’s Ryan Porteous were chosen to start ahead of the oft-imperious John Souttar for Friday’s friendly clash with the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

John Souttar one of Rangers’ stand-out performers

This was, at least, still a step in the right direction.

Souttar, who played a few minutes off the bench in the Dutch capital, was left out of Clarke’s squad entirely in November. In fact, he hasn’t started a Scotland game since June 2022.

And while the former Hearts stopper didn’t really do his hopes of further game time much good during a difficult second-half cameo – the Netherlands scoring three late goals while storming to a 4-0 win – former Rangers and Scotland striker Kevin Kyle is not the only one feeling that Souttar can consider himself a little hard done by to slip so far down the pecking order.

In fact, he might not have featured at all had Scott McKenna and Grant Hanley not been forced to pull out.

“(Souttar is) Scotland’s best defender,” Kyle tells Open Goal, backing the 25-year-old to win over Clarke and secure a place in the manager’s Euro 2024 roster. “I liked him before he got his injuries. Thought he was outstanding. I just like him.

“I just think he’s a proper, proper defender but he also plays. He defends very, very well but he can play.”

Steve Clarke has Scotland selection headache

Souttar’s aerial prowess and penalty box-presence would certainly come in handy at the Euros, especially in a group containing home nations Germany and the dangerous Switzerland.

As Kyle points out, Souttar is not merely a meat and potatoes ball-blocker. He starts as many attacks as he stops at Rangers, striding into midfield and playing those line-breaking passes.

Souttar has played 33 games in all competitions for Rangers this term too, putting those injury concerns behind him. He’s started each of the last 10 in the Scottish Premiership too, scoring against Ross County and providing an assist in the 5-0 hammering of Motherwell.