An update has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and their plans for the remainder of the summer transfer window after nine first-team additions so far…
What's the latest Rangers transfer news?
Light Blues head coach Michael Beale has confirmed that he would like to add another defender to his squad before next month's deadline passes.
The Gers tactician has revealed the club are "speaking" to targets as they attempt to take their incoming business into double figures, although has also ceded that it could be difficult as the players he wants will not be easy to snap up from their current teams.
One defender who has recently been touted with a move to Ibrox is Leicester City centre-back Harry Souttar, who is the brother of current Rangers star John.
How good is Harry Souttar?
The colossal 6 foot 6 titan has had a difficult couple of years due to injury but his previous form for Stoke City and his displays at the World Cup last year suggest that he could be a big upgrade on Ben Davies for Beale.
He missed a staggering 49 competitive matches between November 2021 and October 2022 for the Potters due to a cruciate ligament rupture but came back to catch the eye in Qatar.
Souttar averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.97 across four appearances at the tournament for Australia, which is a higher scorer than any Rangers central defender aside from Connor Goldson managed in the Scottish Premiership last term, as he won an impressive 71% of his ground duels.
The £40k-per-week colossus, who was once dubbed an absolute "monster" by journalist Jordan Campbell, managed to showcase his qualities despite coming off the back of almost a year out injured, which came after his superb performances for Stoke during the 2021/22 campaign.
Prior to his knee injury, Souttar averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.15 across 16 Championship outings and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions per match – more than any Gers player made last term – to go along with a 75% duel success rate.
These statistics suggest that the towering brute, whose form earned him a move to then-Premier League side Leicester City in January of this year, is a dominant and consistently excellent defender at his best who can make numerous defensive interventions per clash.
He could come in as an upgrade on Davies after the English centre-back averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 over 27 league matches for the Gers last season.
The former Liverpool dud made 1.7 tackles and interceptions per game and won 67% of his duels, as per Sofascore, and this suggests that Souttar could offer more than him.
Based on their respective statistics, the Foxes man could deliver a higher average performance level whilst being more efficient in his battles and also being able to cut out opposition attacks more frequently with tackles and interceptions.
Davies has reportedly been told that he is free to leave the club this summer and Beale could land an upgrade on the 28-year-old enforcer by signing Souttar, who would provide the manager with enough options in defence to sanction an exit for the former Preston North End star.
