John Souttar can be an instant replacement for Connor Goldson at Rangers, Noel Whelan has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

The Daily Record have listed the Hearts defender as a possible option for Rangers, with Goldson looking 'increasingly likely' to leave Ibrox when his contract expires at the end of the season.

They claimed that Souttar's preference would be a move to England, where he has at least 10 suitors, but as he 'hasn't ruled out' staying in Scotland, the Gers could make a 'final push' to land him.

Like Goldson, the £900,000-rated 25-year-old will be out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

The latest

BBC Radio pundit Whelan is impressed that Rangers aren't 'wasting any time' in lining up an able successor for Goldson, and he thinks that the Light Blues have accepted that the 29-year-old is headed for the exit door.

He outlined: "Connor Goldson doesn't look like he's going to sign a contract. There's your replacement straight away.

"They're not wasting any time in preparation for the start of next season. Connor Goldson obviously doesn't want to sign another contract, he's made that perfectly clear.

"They'll probably see him to the end of the season. At the same time, they're already targeting players that will come in and deputise for Connor Goldson when he does leave the club next summer."

The verdict

If Rangers can persuade Souttar to choose them over any English suitors, will that minimise the impact of losing Goldson?

It's worth noting that they're different players. Goldson likes to play the ball short, whereas Souttar has a penchant for kicking it long, so either he would have to adapt to Giovanni van Bronckhorst's style, or the Dutchman would need to adapt to him.

His defensive fundamentals look to be on point, though. For instance, the Hearts centre-back has won 71% of his duels overall, a better record than Goldson.

Indeed, former Hibernian striker Tam McManus has seen enough to declare that the 'superb' Souttar 'walks into both Old Firm teams'. Therefore, Whelan is right to talk up the 25-year-old as a readymade replacement for the seemingly exit-bound Goldson at Ibrox.

In other news, some Rangers fans bemoaned this transfer update