John Souttar Rangers standoff deepens as Casper Widell gets involved | OneFootball

If one bizarre Rangers story punctuated the summer extremely unexpectedly, it was that of John Souttar. From returning from the World Cup as a likely first team regular with a new contract under his belt, the former Hearts man suddenly and inexplicably found himself staying at home during Rangers’ Spanish trip. The whole situation ballooned out of control and into the realm of the absurd. Following that February contract, which took him to 2028 and had Danny Röhl extolling his virtues as a first team regular, Souttar found himself castigated and cast aside just four months later. The John Souttar Rangers standoff had begun.

John Souttar situation gets stranger

However, some new information has come to light regarding a defender Rangers nearly signed during the summer, but whose move fell apart at the last minute. Sweden’s Casper Widell has come into the press to speak about his failed move to Rangers, which at the time had appeared to be a strong prospect for a new addition. Widell has spoken for the first time about the transaction failing and has explained that, without naming him, John Souttar is the reason Widell did not join.

His comments in full:

Put simply, his claim was that the move looked likely, but somebody higher up at Ibrox had instructed that Rangers would not sign a further defender without Souttar’s exit first. Widell did not name Souttar, nor apparently did the higher up. However, the fact that Widell addressed the defender in question refusing to leave, still being at the club and not being in the matchday squad means it can only be one man. This story just gets stranger and stranger from a football and indeed Rangers point of view.

The Souttar and Röhl fallout at Rangers

As Ibrox Noise explained, our information is that there was a falling out between Souttar and former manager Danny Röhl. It is understood that he instructed the board that he would no longer play for Danny Röhl at Rangers. He had, however, suggested that he would happily play for the next manager, but until then would sit out his contract. Röhl left, Derek McInnes came in and Souttar believed that would be that.

However, our understanding is that this was not the case. The board had decided that no player could simply decide which manager they would or would not play for and viewed it as technically a violation of contract. The board decided categorically that Souttar would never play for Rangers again under any manager regardless. Souttar, however, dug his heels in and refused to leave. That decision created the John Souttar standoff Rangers now find themselves dealing with.

Our understanding is that what Widell has said is more or less true. Souttar was dissatisfied with how the board treated him and refused a number of moves. Fundamentally, Souttar is on the same wage as a large chunk of players, around the £22,000 a week mark. Many of the moves would not have offered him that. Leicester certainly would not and that was a big one. Leicester in England’s League One would not offer Souttar the same wage he currently earns.

Rangers face a total Souttar standoff

The issue Rangers have now is a total standoff. Souttar refuses to leave without being paid off in full. From what we understand, mutual consent is not even possible here because he refuses to lose out on any cash, believing himself to have been the victim of extremely unfair treatment. Whether he is or is not is a matter for the individual in question. That is for you, the reader, to decide. However, Widell’s testimony does shed further light on the situation.

Souttar will not leave Rangers under any circumstances unless a club matches his terms or Rangers pay off his full contract. That is something the club refuses to do. Of course, there was the transfer to Greece side Aris which appeared to be the deal that would finally see him leave. We all recall that getting close, but it hit a major snag when Souttar refused to leave for Greece unless Rangers paid off his full deal.

Of course, this is a curious request for a player to make, given that a transfer involves the transfer of a contract and not a payout to the player. Nevertheless, Souttar essentially held the club to ransom, much in the same way that the club is holding him to ransom. It is a horrendous stalemate and a mess.

John Souttar Rangers standoff remains unresolved

Souttar’s extension will stand and unless he gets an offer that matches his wage and Rangers pay out the rest of his deal, he will sit out the remainder of his contract and do nothing but train. It is a very poor situation for everyone concerned.

Therefore, Widell’s comments have definitely helped to bring some context to what we already knew about the John Souttar Rangers standoff. It really is quite the mucky mess. Unfortunately, Rangers have a decent defender there who is simply taking up a wage now and who is not going to play for Rangers again.

A very, very messy one.