Harry Souttar has been one of Leicester City’s flops after making just 12 appearances for the Foxes since last season
The Australia international joined the Foxes under Brendan Rodgers in January in a bid to keep them in the Premier League, but a torrid end to the season saw the former Premier League winners relegated to the second-tier on the final day of the campaign – with Rodgers having been sacked months before.
Enzo Maresca has come in and doesn’t appear to see the towering defender as part of his plans, with Souttar yet to make an appearance and only featuring in one matchday squad.
What has Carlton Palmer said about Harry Souttar’s future at Leicester City?
EFL pundit Carlton Palmer believes Leicester will look to move him on in a bid to recover most of the eight-figure fee they spent on him when he joined from Stoke City six months ago.
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer predicted the Foxes stance ahead of the deadline. He said: “He’s not featured for Leicester so far this season and doesn’t appear to be in the manager’s plans. Leicester will listen to offers, and would be looking to regain the £10-15million that they bought him for.”
What is the latest news on Harry Souttar’s future?
Souttar has missed the last three matchday squads for the East Midlands outfit, which indicates he’s out of favour at the King Power Stadium and Rangers have been linked.
With older brother John at the club, he could offer his sibling some major competition, with Connor Goldson and Ben Davies currently making up the centre-back competition at Ibrox. However, the Leicester Mercury suggest that there may be financial implications that could hinder any potential deal.
A loan fee would be required alongside Souttar’s high wages, according to the report – with Capology estimating his weekly wage to be £40,000.
And that could mean that Rangers may have to wait until they know their European fate with a crunch Champions League play-off decider against PSV Eindhoven today.
Where does this leave Harry Souttar?
Souttar’s current situation is quite an odd scenario, on the face of it. Behind Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady in the pecking order, you can see why the trio start ahead of him thanks to their experience and know-how at Championship, Premier League, European and international level.
But the loan signing of Callum Doyle means that Enzo Maresca is unwilling to use Souttar as his ‘developmental’ centre-back – instead opting to use the young Manchester City man as his talent to bring up through the ranks, despite only having him on a temporary basis.
It leaves Souttar in a worse place than he was this time last season. He was on the books at Stoke City, and coming back from a cruciate ligament injury, roared back to full fitness before the World Cup – where he endured a superb spell on the big stage in Qatar to win some admiration.
Of course, you can’t deny him a shot at the Premier League, but game time was regular at the Bet365 Stadium – and by being back in the same league and not playing at all, it’s a definite step back in his career.
