NafisaThere had been growing signs at Ibrox that Derek McInnes had already made a decision on the future of one experienced Rangers player.
The warning signs were difficult to miss.
As the new season gathered pace, the defender found himself repeatedly absent when the Rangers team was announced. Then came the matchday squads — and still no place.
Game after game, the same pattern continued.
For a player with considerable experience at the club and at international level, being completely overlooked represented a significant change in circumstances.
McInnes was clearly shaping his squad in his own image, and this particular Rangers player appeared to have been pushed towards the fringes of his plans.
There was no dramatic public confrontation, but the message from the manager’s selections was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Now, the situation has finally reached its conclusion.
The player is preparing to leave Ibrox, with a move abroad now close to being completed after interest arrived from a country where the transfer window remains open.
And the identity of the Rangers defender at the centre of the situation is John Souttar.
Souttar’s Rangers exit is now close
The 29-year-old Scotland international is understood to have agreed a three-year contract with Greek side Aris Thessaloniki.
McInnes confirmed on Thursday that Souttar had been attracting interest from clubs in countries where the transfer window had not yet closed.
Greece remains open for business until September 15, giving Rangers an opportunity to find a solution for a player who had effectively been frozen out of the manager’s first-team plans.
Reports in Greece claim Souttar is expected to travel to Thessaloniki before the end of the week to undergo his medical and complete the final formalities.
Sport24 reported that he is “preparing to officially become a player” for Aris, while BN Sports has claimed that the Greek club will pay Rangers around £1million.
If completed, the move will bring an end to Souttar’s spell at Ibrox, which began in 2022.
He has made 132 appearances for Rangers across all competitions and has also remained part of the Scotland setup during his time in Glasgow.
Yet despite that experience, his situation changed dramatically under McInnes.
McInnes made his decision
Souttar has not made any of McInnes’ matchday squads this season.
That is perhaps the clearest indication of what happened behind the scenes.
Rather than being gradually eased out of the starting XI or used selectively, the defender was simply no longer being selected for competitive matchday involvement.
For a player of Souttar’s experience, that represented a significant fall in status.
The manager had evidently decided that other defensive options were ahead of him, leaving Souttar with few realistic opportunities to force his way back into the picture.
And with the Greek transfer window still open, the timing has created an obvious escape route.
Souttar can now leave Rangers and begin another chapter of his career rather than spending the remainder of the campaign watching from the outside.
It is also worth remembering that his Rangers contract was extended as recently as February.
He was due to remain at Ibrox until the end of next season, with Rangers also holding an option to extend his stay by another year.
That makes his impending departure even more striking.
A player who only months ago had his contract extended is now preparing to leave after finding himself completely frozen out of McInnes’ plans.
Should Rangers accept £1m?
From Rangers’ perspective, there is a strong financial argument for allowing the transfer to happen.
Souttar’s contract was approaching its final year, meaning the club faced the possibility of losing him for nothing in 2027.
A fee of around £1million therefore gives Rangers something in return for a player who was no longer being considered by the manager.
Keeping him until next summer and potentially watching him depart as a free agent would have offered considerably less value.
However, the footballing side of the decision is more complicated.
Souttar is an experienced Scotland international who has played 132 times for Rangers.
Over the course of a long season involving domestic competition and European commitments, that experience can be useful — particularly when injuries and suspensions inevitably begin to take their toll.
There will therefore be some Rangers supporters who question whether allowing an experienced defender to leave for around £1million is the right move.
But McInnes’ treatment of Souttar tells its own story.
The defender was not part of his matchday squads, and that suggests the manager had already decided that his future lay elsewhere.
For Souttar, the move to Aris could ultimately be the best outcome.
At 29, he still has plenty of football ahead of him, and a three-year contract gives him the opportunity to establish himself in a new league rather than remain on the fringes at Ibrox.
After four years in Glasgow, the Scotland international is now preparing for a completely different challenge.
And for Rangers, this is another example of McInnes putting his stamp on the squad.
The manager has identified the players he wants, those he does not, and Souttar has ultimately found himself on the wrong side of that decision.
What began as a quiet disappearance from Rangers’ matchday plans has now developed into a permanent exit.
After being frozen out of the team, Souttar is finally heading for the Ibrox exit door.
Nafisa
