JOHN SOUTTAR has signed a pre-contract agreement with Rangers. 

The centre-half will join the Ibrox side in the summer when his current deal at Hearts expires. 

Rangers’ Sporting Director, Ross Wilson, commented: “We are really looking forward to John joining Rangers and continuing his development under Gio, our coaching and support staff.

“John is a full Scotland international and has so much potential ahead for the coming years. I have really enjoyed getting to know John across all of our conversations so far and I can see how excited he and his family are to be joining Rangers. We are equally excited to welcome John to Ibrox.”

The 25-year-old is a Scotland international, and netted on his last appearance versus Denmark.

Has started his career at Dundee United before making the switch to Hearts, where he has featured 178 times. While fans will be excited to secure the defender's services in the summer, there will no doubt be questions asked about whether Souttar can join the club this month. But Hearts have issued a statement to reiterate their stance, insisting they will demand a significant fee for this to happen.

It reads: "Heart of Midlothian Football Club notes Rangers Football Club’s announcement of John Souttar’s pre-contract signing. "The club reiterates that John is an important member of the first-team squad and will remain so until the end of the season unless a significant and satisfactory offer is made during the January transfer window. "No further comment will be made at this time."

More to follow.