Leicester City plot way forward for £15m misfit as Championship clubs hover
Latest transfer news from LeicestershireLive as reports link Harry Souttar with season-long loan away from King Power Stadium
Harry Souttar has been earmarked for a season on loan by the new Leicester City hierarchy, and several Championship clubs have shown an interest in the towering central defender.
The 25-year-old joined Leicester from Stoke City in January 2023 for £15m, and while he made a dozen appearances in the Premier League, Souttar never really got a look in after Enzo Maresca took charge at the King Power Stadium.
He is currently staking his claim under Maresca’s replacement, Steve Cooper, but faces competition for a starting place from the likes of Wout Faes, Conor Coady, Ben Nelson, Jannik Vestergaard and summer recruit Caleb Okoli.
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With that in mind, the Telegraph’s John Percy reports that the Australia World Cup player is “set to go out on loan for the season” – and names Sheffield United and Stoke as two clubs keen to recruit him.
It is news that will disappoint fans of Souttar who thought a change of manager at the King Power might revive his hopes of establishing himself at the club.
Excellent in the air and at defending in the box, Souttar also has great positional sense and is decent on the ball too. With a new boss who often played with a back three at Nottingham Forest, it was thought that could help his cause, but that no longer seems to be the case.
Not that the Blades and Stoke will be seen as ideal destinations by the Souttar camp, no doubt hoping for more Premier League interest in the Scottish-born player.
While United might have the more realistic hopes of regaining their top-flight status this coming season after suffering relegation in May, the club are struggling for money as a takeover wrangle continues and may not even be able to afford the loan fee demanded by the Foxes.
Stoke have a young manager and a go-ahead hierarchy since Jon Walters took over as director of football, but Souttar is unlikely to want to return to the club where he initially made his name.
Australia manager Graham Arnold commented on Souttar’s situation before a couple of recent international games, saying he had been ‘surprised’ by his lack of game-time at Leicester.
“What’s important is his club future, but with Harry coming with us and playing well it promotes him,” Arnold told the West Australian newspaper .
“It shows everyone out there how good he is. I’ve been surprised by his lack of game time, because of what he’s done for us in the past.”
Souttar himself offered a glimpse of his situation before Cooper was appointed, telling ESPN: “It’d be very clear if (Maresca) was still there, my situation; to try and leave the club and get more minutes because I’ve lost out on a lot of football. To still be selected for the national team I know I need to be playing football.
“I just have to wait to see what the club does and who comes in and then to try to impress the new manager that comes in. When I get back for pre-season, we’ll probably have a sit down after a few weeks and have a chat and see where we’re at. I think that’s the best thing to do.
“Obviously, we don’t have a manager yet. So I don’t know and I can’t comment or speculate on who it’s going to be. But I’ve just got to give myself the best shot of trying to impress him and the staff that will come in as well. We’ll just go from there.”
