leicester city
the £15 million man to join Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Leicester City defender Harry Souttar is now in talks to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr after Rangers were priced out of a deal last summer.
Had Mick Beale’s side not suffered a hammering by PSV Eindhoven in August’s Champions League qualifiers, would Harry Souttar be plying his trade alongside brother John at Ibrox these days?
Maybe so, Football Scotland reporting that that Rangers missing out on a seat at Europe’s top table also had a very adverse effect in their pursuit of Leicester’s 6ft 7ins, sky-scraping centre-half.
The Glasgow giants were unable to meet his ‘hefty salary demands’. That should not pose a problem for Al-Nassr, however, with the deep-pocketed, Public Investment Fund-backed club luring not only Cristiano Ronaldo but also Sadio Mane, Alex Telles, Seko Fofana, Otavio and Aymeric Laporte to Saudi Arabia.
Rangers wanted Harry Souttar from Leicester City
Reporter Rudy Galetti, writing on X, believes that Souttar could be sharing a dressing room with Ronaldo and co soon enough too. Al-Nassr are in talks, even if a deal may have to wait until Fofana – the former Lens captain – leaves on loan due to the Saudi Pro League’s foreign player limitations.
The Scotland-born Souttar has made only three Championship appearances for runaway leaders Leicester this season, totalling just 98 minutes of league action.
“It’s been a frustrating time,” Souttar told Yahoo Sports after jetting out to represent Australia in the Asian Cup.
“Even though you’re not going to be playing a lot, (you have to) do extra sessions here and there and keep yourself as top fit as best you can. I’ve worked so hard to get here, so my full concentration is on the next month and a half.”
Saudi Arabia switch on the cards
By the time the tournament ends, Souttar could be an Al-Nassr player. Leicester are unlikely to stand in his way, particularly with Foxes boss Enzo Maresca confirming that the club must first sell players to free up funds to bring in Stefano Sensi from Inter Milan.
Fashion Sakala, the former Rangers forward, is already plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, making a big impact at Al-Fayha.
Friendlies are never a good judge of where a team is, positive results can help with momentum but as we saw with Philippe Clement’s team selection for Rangers, experiments can play their part in disjointed performances.
There were elements of what the Gers boss is trying to implement in his squad although it is hard when a game is played at almost walking pace to find any real rhythm.
One thing that Philippe Clement will have learned though, is that Dujon Sterling is not what Rangers need on the right wing.
Philippe Clement gets Rangers experiment wrong
This isn’t a criticism of Sterling or of the manager.
The best time to experiment is in exactly this type of game with a largely first choice XI.
For example, nothing is ever gained when there are loads of youngsters picked to supply a frustrated backup striker with chances.
Rangers huffed and puffed with a strong side that started with Rabbi Matondo and John Lundstram going close but an area that is normally key to Philippe Clement’s success was short of creativity.
The right-hand side saw James Tavernier at right-back and Sterling playing in an unfamiliar role in front of him.
By my maths, that’s him now played five different positions since joining in the summer.
In fairness, he put in his usual shift and you can see why Clement wanted to try it out and why he loves him as a player.
Sterling is clearly a good player, he’s aggressive and an incredible athlete but he just doesn’t have the positional sense or nous to play on the wing.
Against better opposition in Europe, it might be an option with the extra protection he offers and because he would have more space to attack but you could almost see him thinking about where he should go when Tavernier joined the attack.
There was no fluidity or link up play plus, Rangers lost the 1v1 threat that Ross McCausland or even Scott Wright possesses.
It was worth a try, however, it is one that Philippe Clement shouldn’t be repeating any time soon and only serves to highlight what Rangers really need in this transfer window – a proper right winger.
Rangers are starting to get players back from injury but who has the gaffer gone with against Hertha Berlin as he looks to round off the training camp in style.
The most notable absence from the training footage has been Kemar Roofe with a the return of a few key players being a welcome boost for Clement.
Tom Lawrence was seen getting on the plane but, even better, he has also been taking part in group training sessions too.
Today might be too soon for him but he isn’t far away from a return.
The same applies for Ryan Jack who will be wanting to get back into the starting XI with a place in Steve Clarke’s European Championships squad at stake.
Kieran Dowell joined up late due to personal reasons and both Ben Davies and Borna Barisic are also available for selection.
Both left-backs are the subject of intense speculation with Ridvan Yilmaz said to be close to a move to Verona and Barisic linked with a return to Dinamo Zagreb.
Midfield is where Philippe Clement will be glad to see some options return.
On top of Dowell, Jose Cifuentes is fit and Nicolas Raskin was a welcome sight at Ibrox before the winter break too.
Sam Lammers has joined Utretcht on loan which narrows down the options at number ten and Abdallah Sima is at the African Cup of Nations.
The signing of Fabio Silva helps to cover both of these absences but he looks more likely to play centrally in the coming months.
This is how Rangers line up against Hertha Berlin as Philippe Clement gets the second half of the season kicked off.
The result is a bonus with getting back up to full sharpness the main objective ahead of Copenhagen’s visit on Tuesday and Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup next weekend.
Three games to brush off the cobwebs and get up to speed ahead of what could be a hugely exciting campaign.
That is according to Andres Fassi. And he should know, being the president of Talleres de Cordoba, after all.
Kevin Mantilla, a £1.5 million signing from Santa Fe last summer, is already attracting interest from clubs far higher up the football pyramid. And if Mantilla’s name feels oddly familiar to you Rangers supporters, well that’s probably because the coveted 20-year-old was linked with a move to Ibrox nearly 12 months ago, before taking his considerable talents to a Talleres outfit who finished second in Argentina’s top flight in 2023.
And if Rangers had any plans to renew their interest a year on, well Philippe Clement’s side would face no shortage of competition.
Not with Fassi confirming, in conversation with La Voz, that Mantilla is attracting glances from a bonafide European giant like Liverpool, and a Brighton side boasting a formidable track record when landing some of the game’s best up-and-coming talent.
One-time Rangers target now linked with Liverpool
“It’s true, they (Liverpool and Brighton) have been following him for four months now,” Fassi admits. “And they asked us for information about his physical records.”
Fassi insists that there are currently no plans to cash in on Mantilla. He is, after all, only a few months into a contract which runs until 2027. That stance could soften, however, if Liverpool or Brighton offer Talleres the chance to make a considerable profit, putting their Premier League riches to good use.
The Seagulls are also expected to seal a £7.8 million deal for River Plate full-back Valentin Barco, HITC understands.
But the rock solid Butland is absolutely right up there and without his 12 Scottish Premiership clean sheets, Rangers would be much further behind Celtic in the title race as it stands.
Butland has unquestionably been the bargain of the season up north and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him in the running for the player of the year gongs at the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign.
However, Clyde 1 Superscoreboard mouthpiece Hugh Keevins is in a different school of thought.
The popular radio programme hosted by Gordon Duncan debated its player of the season so far given we are in the midst of the Premiership winter break.
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley was mentioned at the beginning before one Rangers fan caller rightly namedropped James Tavernier for his incredible exploits this season.
Keevins certainly wasn’t against what Eddie the caller was saying regarding Tavernier but was quick to drop in that Jack Butland shouldn’t be in the running because of the simple fact he is a goalkeeper.
Keevins said: “I wouldn’t complain with what Eddie has had to say (about Tavernier). Butland makes timely saves and he looks good in the process.
“However, for a Rangers goalkeeper to be player of the year eventually would be an odd choice. You’re looking for forward-going players and for Tavernier, the numbers stack up for him.”
Keevins has been unfair here because it really isn’t that ‘odd’ to see a stopper between the sticks win a player of the year award.
We only have to go back to one of Rangers’ most memorable campaigns in the 2020/21 season to realise that Allan McGregor was voted the SPFL player of the year for his incredible form.
Now think of how dominant Rangers were as the club stopped Celtic’s 10IAR bid. Tavernier, Jermain Defoe, Steven Davis, Ryan Kent, Kemar Roofe and more were outstanding on the way to 55.
But for McGregor to be recognised above every other outfield player in the Ibrox squad was a fantastic achievement and one that couldn’t really be sniffed at.
So for Keevins to say that Butland simply can’t be in the running for an award for being a goalie, regardless of how good he is, is rather odd in itself and definitely an unjust comment.
