Phil SumblerThe Swans are being mentioned along with Rangers, Celtic, Preston, Stoke, Nottingham Forest, Uncle Tom Cobley and pretty much anyone else you can think of for a move for Hearts highly rated central defender John Souttar in January.
Every transfer window there is a player that becomes very much in demand and the Scotland international is one of them as the links in place already prove. Souttar scored his first international goal in the win over Denmark in the last round of international games and is looking more than likely to leave Tynecastle in the January window with him out of contract in the summer and Hearts not yet having tied him down to a new deal.
The Swans are not alone in keeping a close eye on developments but seem unlikely to be able to pull off the deal given the high interest in the defender and the financial pull that will likely be greater than anything we could offer.
And one of Hearts former stars Stephen Pressley has urged Souttar to think carefully before making any decision as to his next destination, something that he learned from his own experiences as a player.
Pressley stayed for eight years at Hearts and won the Scottish Cup before eventually opting to join Celtic over then-Premier League club Charlton.
“For me, there’s two things about your career. The first thing is titles. How many titles and cups and trophies you win. And two, your family and your finances. These are all considerations,” he told Football Scotland.
“If you can leave Hearts for a much bigger salary and a place where you could win titles, then I think it’s a good consideration. But Hearts have to demonstrate to John that they are serious about those factors themselves.
“Do I think Rangers or Celtic? Quite possibly. It depends on what opportunities he has down south.
“He’s played a lot of his career in Scotland. I would think he would have ambitions to play in the Premier League in England. If that’s the case, his route to that might be via the Championship first. That’s a consideration.
“The top Championship clubs could almost always pay higher salaries than Rangers or Celtic. I think it’s going to be very hard for Hearts to keep him.”
Pressley also urged Hearts to try and keep hold of the player when he added “I know they would argue that the fee might be small but a further sell-on could be a real attraction, I get that. But they’ve got a chance of making a big impression this season and sometimes you need to show real ambition within that. I think that would show their supporters real ambition.”
The smart money for Souttar is to remain North of the border whether that is at Hearts or a move to one of the Glasgow giants but financially there could be that money – as Pressley says – available in the Championship particularly at clubs where the Premier League ambition can lead to some high spending in the January window whether that be on transfer fees or the weekly wage bill (or in many cases both)
So whilst the Swans do have Souttar on their radar it is likely that this one can be filed under the “not happening” category as we will be well down any pecking order.
