An update has emerged on Rangers transfer target John Souttar regarding a potential move to Ibrox to join Gio van Bronckhorst's side in 2022...

What's the talk?

According to The Scottish Sun, the Gers target will not sign a new contract at the Edinburgh club, with the defender 'certain' to leave as his contract is set to expire at the end of the season.

The report claims that Rangers and Celtic are both interested in Souttar, with the 6 foot 1 colossus potentially available on a cut-price deal in the January transfer window.

Big issue

We recently published an article explaining why Giovanni van Bronckhorst must sell Connor Goldson in the upcoming transfer window. The defender is in a similar position to Souttar in the sense that he is out of contract at the end of the season, so the Gers may need to cash in on him soon to avoid losing him for nothing.

This would result in Rangers losing one of their first-choice defenders and cause a big issue midway through the campaign. However, a deal to sign Souttar could alleviate the problem, as he could be a terrific addition to the team and slot straight into the starting XI.

Goldson has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.05 in the Premiership this season, winning 66% of his duels and making 1.4 tackles and interceptions per game. Meanwhile, Souttar has averaged a rating of 7.39, winning 69% of his duels and completing 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game.

This suggests that he has the quality to come into Ibrox and hit the ground running, as he has performed to a higher level than Goldson consistently this season whilst playing in the same division.

Former Hearts boss Craig Levein once claimed that Souttar is capable of doing 'wonderful things', saying: “I’ve known him since he was 12 years old and he’s just got better and better. When he came here from Dundee Utd, we just needed to give him time. He’s grown into the player that I hoped he would be and for me he’s the best centre back in Scotland.

“Just for the fact that he can do wonderful things. His passing of the ball Saturday was fantastic, but he is also now capable physically of competing with any centre forward. His pace is very, very good and he’s strong, focused and aggressive."

This provides extra backing to Souttar's pedigree in the Premiership along with his statistics and emphasises the point that he could solve Van Bronckhorst's big issue in January. The Dutchman could axe Goldson and bring the 25-year-old Scotland defender to the club knowing that he has what could turn out to be an upgrade in the centre-back position, given the players' respective form this season.

AND in other news, Gio could save Wilson millions with Rangers beast who is a "winner and warrior"...