An update has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and their attempts to bolster the playing squad before the summer transfer window officially slams shut this week.
What's the latest Rangers transfer news?
According to The 4th Official (via their Patreon page), Gers boss Michael Beale is trying to secure a swoop to sign Leicester City central defender Harry Souttar before the deadline.
The report has claimed that the Light Blues have a 'real' interest in signing the Australia international to improve their options at the heart of the backline.
Read the latest Rangers transfer news HERE…
This comes after The Herald claimed that current Rangers centre-back Leon King is poised to depart Ibrox on loan for the 2023/24 campaign amid interest from clubs in England.
How good is Harry Souttar?
The 6 foot 6 colossus is an aerially dominant central defender who could be a dream replacement for the Gers academy prospect, should the club go through with a deal to send the youngster out on loan this week.
His performances for Leicester in the Premier League and for his country at the World Cup during the 2022/23 campaign suggest that the potential is there for him to be an upgrade on the 19-year-old Scotsman.
Souttar joined the Foxes from Championship side Stoke City in January and showcased his defensive dominance across 12 top-flight appearances as he won 73% of his duels, which included an 86% success rate in aerial battles, and made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game, as per Sofascore.
The 24-year-old titan earned himself a move to the King Power after his impressive performances for Australia in Qatar, where he averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.97 across four outings and caught the eye with 2.5 tackles and interceptions alongside a duel success rate of 68%.
These statistics show that the towering titan, who was described as a "monster" by journalist Jordan Campbell, is able to make consistent defensive interventions to win possession back for his side and has the physical strength and positional know-how to come out on top in the majority of his contests against opposition players.
Whereas, King averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.89 over 15 Scottish Premiership outings last season.
The teenage talent made 1.6 tackles and interceptions per game and won 58% of his duels, although the academy graduate did lose 51% of his aerial battles.
This came after the Rangers defender lost a whopping 86% of his contests in the air across four appearances during the 2021/22 Premiership campaign.
These statistics indicate that the young gem, who appears set to move on from Ibrox on a temporary basis, is a liability when it comes to dealing with long balls and crosses into the box as opposition players are able to get the better of him far too frequently in those situations.
The Leicester man, on the other hand, has proven himself to be a phenomenal defender when it comes to dealing with those types of threats from other teams, whilst his average performance level at the World Cup also suggests that he could provide more quality than King on a consistent basis.
Therefore, Souttar could be the ideal replacement for the 19-year-old prospect as he is an experienced head – both domestically and internationally – who could be a dominant force at the back for Beale at Ibrox.