John Souttar

John Souttar (born 25 September 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Championship, and for the Scotland national team. He previously played for Dundee United before joining Hearts in February 2016. As of January 2020, he is vice-captain of Hearts.

This article is about the footballer. For the architect, see John Soutar.

John Souttar
Personal information
Full name John Souttar
Date of birth (1996-09-25) 25 September 1996
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre Back
Club information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
Number 4
Youth career
2002–2006 Brechin City Youths
2006–2013 Dundee United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Dundee United 63 (1)
2016– Heart of Midlothian 99 (1)
National team‡
2012–2013 Scotland U17 6 (0)
2013–2015 Scotland U19 11 (1)
2015–2018 Scotland U21 11 (0)
2018– Scotland 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 February 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 March 2019

Initially known as a central defender, Souttar was converted to play as a defensive midfielder towards the end of his stay at Dundee United, however he has more recently been deployed as a centre back for Hearts.[2] He is the youngest player to have appeared for Dundee United's first team, having made his debut for the club in January 2013 at the age of 16. After previously representing the country at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, he made his full international debut in September 2018.

Early life

Souttar was born in Aberdeen on 25 September 1996[3] to parents Jack and Heather. His father had previously been a professional footballer, with Brechin City.[4] His mother's side of the family hails from Australia.[5] Growing up in the village of Luthermuir, Aberdeenshire, Souttar attended Luthermuir Primary and then Mearns Academy in nearby Laurencekirk.[6][7]

In 2002, Souttar began to play for Brechin City Boys Club (later Brechin City Youths), where he was coached by his father in a successful team also containing Ryan Gauld and Euan Spark. The trio also developed their skills at coaching schools run in Dundee by Ian Cathro, before joining Dundee United's youth system in 2006 at the age of nine.[8]

Souttar has a younger brother,[9] Harry, who plays for Stoke City.[10]

Club career

Dundee United

After progressing through the various youth team levels at Dundee United, Souttar signed a professional contract in July 2012 and became a member of the club's under-20 development squad.[11] After just four months in the development team, injuries and suspensions led to Souttar making his first team debut on 2 January 2013, playing in central defence from the start in a 2–2 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie Stadium.[12] Aged 16 years and 99 days, he became the youngest ever player to play for Dundee United.[13] On 24 January 2013, Souttar signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until January 2016.[14] Still aged 16, Souttar returned to the first team in April 2013 following an injury to Brian McLean and started regularly for the remainder of the season, playing against Celtic in a 4–3 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat on 14 April 2013 at Hampden Park.[11]

Souttar's form began to attract the attention of other clubs, with English Premier League team Sunderland having a bid of £600,000 accepted by Dundee United in October 2013.[15] After speaking to Sunderland officials, Souttar decided to turn down the transfer. On 4 November 2013, Souttar signed another extension to his contract, keeping him at Dundee United until May 2016.[16] Souttar continued to play regularly in central defence throughout the 2013–14 season and scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish Premiership match against Aberdeen on 1 January 2014.[17]

Souttar missed the first three months of the 2014–15 season due to an ankle injury sustained in pre-season.[18] After his return to the first team, Dundee United successfully experimented with Souttar in a defensive midfield role in matches against Celtic and Aberdeen during April 2015, a position in which he has subsequently featured regularly.[19] In October 2015, new United head coach Mixu Paatelainen played Souttar at right back in his first two matches in charge.[20] In all he made seventy three appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.[21]

Heart of Midlothian

On 1 February 2016, Souttar signed for fellow Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, agreeing a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee.[22] Speaking about his move Souttar said that he was "looking forward to getting stuck in and getting my career back on track".[23]

Souttar played regularly for Hearts during the 2016–17 season until he suffered a ruptured achilles tendon during a match against Celtic in January 2017 which ended his season.[24] He made a full recovery (though then missed three months in late 2018 with a hip injury which was aggravated on international duty),[25][26] and took part in the run to the 2019 Scottish Cup Final which Hearts lost to the same opponents.[27]

After missing much of the 2019–20 season with an ankle injury requiring an operation, Souttar returned to the team only to tear the achilles in his other leg during a Scottish Cup tie with Rangers in February 2020.[28] Initially fearing his career was over, the recovery took six months.[29] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, the 2019–20 Scottish league season was curtailed and Hearts were consequently relegated.[30] Soon after returning to training, Souttar snapped the same achilles tendon that had been injured earlier in 2020.[31]

International career

Souttar has represented Scotland at under-17 level,[32] making his debut on 28 August 2012, in a 0–0 draw against Belgium.[33] In May 2013, Souttar made his debut[34] for the Scotland under-19 team, against England.[35]

Alex McLeish called Souttar into the senior Scotland squad for the first time in May 2018,[36] but he was forced to withdraw due to hip and hamstring injuries.[37] In August 2018, Souttar's manager at Hearts, Craig Levein, suggested that Souttar may be called up for Australia if not selected for Scotland.[38] Souttar later admitted he had not considered playing for Australia or been contacted by Football Federation Australia, and that he was unaware Levein was going to make the suggestion.[5]

Souttar was again selected for Scotland in September 2018, and he made his full international debut in a 4–0 defeat against Belgium on 7 September.[39] A month later, in his third appearance, he was sent off for two bookings in a 2–1 loss away to Israel, later stating that he had been suffering with a hip injury (which caused him to miss three months of club football) but chose not to ask to be substituted as his defensive colleague Charlie Mulgrew had already come off injured.[40]

Career statistics
As of 9 August 2020[41][21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dundee United 2012–13[42] Scottish Premier League 8010000090
2013–14[43] Scottish Premiership 2213020—271
2014–15[44] Scottish Premiership 1302110—161
2015–16[45] Scottish Premiership 2000010—210
Total 631614000732
Heart of Midlothian 2015–16[45] Scottish Premiership 1501000—160
2016–17[46] Scottish Premiership 22020102[lower-alpha 1]0270
2017–18[47] Scottish Premiership 3113020—361
2018–19[48] Scottish Premiership 2404160—341
2019–20[49] Scottish Premiership 702020—110
2020–21[50] Scottish Championship 000000—00
Total 991121110201242
Career total 1622182150201974
  1. Appearances in the Europa League

References
  1. "John Souttar". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  2. "Winners and Losers: Kieran Tierney | John Souttar | Hearts fans". The Scotsman. 8 March 2016.
  3. "John Souttar". uefa.com. Uefa. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  4. John Souttar: From Howe o' the Mearns to Heart of Midlothian, Mearns Leader, 9 February 2017
  5. Jackson, Keith (5 September 2018). "Hearts star John Souttar admits Craig Levein mischief over 'Australian granny' comment". Daily Record. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  6. "John capped for Scotland U17s". mearnsleader.co.uk. Mearns Leader. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  7. "Mearns youngsters extend contracts for Dundee United". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  8. "Former Players with Senior Clubs". brechincityyouths.co.uk. Brechin Boys Club. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  9. Kennedy, Liam (22 August 2014). "Dundee United youth coach: John Souttar's had a tough summer but I know his time will come". Eventing Telegraph. Dundee. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. "Stoke City sign teenage defender Harry Souttar from Dundee United". Sky Sports. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  11. "First Team — John Souttar". Dundee United F.C. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  12. "Aberdeen and Dundee United draw 2–2 in SPL clash at Pittodrie". Sky Sports. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  13. "Aberdeen 2–2 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  14. "Ryan Gauld and John Souttar extend contracts". BBC Sport. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  15. "Dundee United defender John Souttar knocks back move to Sunderland after Terrors agree £600k bid". Daily Record. Glasgow. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  16. "Dundee Utd: Ryan Gauld and John Souttar extend their contracts". BBC Sport. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  17. "Dundee Utd 1–2 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  18. Swan, Craig (1 December 2014). "Dundee United's John Souttar: How could I moan about my op when mate Jordan was battling cancer?". Daily Record. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  19. Roache, Ian (29 April 2015). "Dundee United's John Souttar right at home in midfield". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  20. Nicolson, Eric (29 October 2015). "Dundee United's John Souttar can be a 'top, top' right-back, says Mixu". The Courier. Dundee. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  21. "John Souttar". soccerbase.com. Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  22. "Souttar Signs". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  23. "Hearts complete deal for Dundee United defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  24. "John Souttar: Hearts defender ruled out for rest of season". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  25. Alex McLeish: Hearts and Scotland centre half John Souttar will be stronger and fitter when he makes his comeback, Matthew Lindsay, The National, 25 October 2018
  26. Hearts' John Souttar gives injury update and has message for fans ahead of semi-final, Ross Pilcher, Edinburgh Live, 26 October 2018
  27. "Celtic clinch 'Triple Treble' with Scottish Cup win". ESPN. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  28. "Scotland: Scott McKenna and John Souttar injuries blow to play-off hopes". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  29. "John Souttar opens up on Hearts injury hell as he admits he feared career was over". Sunday Mail. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  30. "Hearts & Partick Thistle relegations confirmed by arbitration panel". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  31. "John Souttar: Hearts defender suffers 'relapse' of achilles injury". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  32. "John Souttar Under–17". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  33. "Scotland v Belgium". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  34. "U19 Squad Matches". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish FA. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  35. "England compound Scotland Under-19s' Euro misery". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish FA. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  36. "Scotland pick Johnny Russell plus seven uncapped players including Lewis Stevenson & Lewis Morgan". BBC Sport. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  37. Anderson, Barry (21 May 2018). "Surgery fear for John Souttar as Hearts defender forced out of Scotland squad". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  38. "Scotland risk losing John Souttar to Australia – Craig Levein". Eurosport. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  39. Anderson, Barry (7 September 2018). "'Ruthless' Belgium display a learning curve for Hearts' John Souttar". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  40. Hearts' John Souttar: My desire to play through pain for Scotland led to red card, The Scotsman, 8 January 2019
  41. "John Souttar". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  42. "Games played by John Souttar in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  43. "Games played by John Souttar in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  44. "Games played by John Souttar in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  45. "Games played by John Souttar in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  46. "Games played by John Souttar in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  47. "Games played by John Souttar in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  48. "Games played by John Souttar in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  49. "Games played by John Souttar in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  50. "Games played by John Souttar in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
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