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John Souttar

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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 (age 28)
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre Back
Central Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
Number 14
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 31 (0)
International career‡
2012–2013 Scotland U17 7 (0)
2013–2015 Scotland U19 11 (1)
2015– Scotland U21 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:55, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:36, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

John Souttar (born 25 September 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) in the Scottish Premiership, and for the Scotland under-21 team. He previously played for Dundee United before joining Hearts in February 2016.

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.[1] 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 and under-19 levels, he made his Scotland under-21 debut in September 2015.

Early life

Souttar was born in Aberdeen on 25 September 1996[2] to parents Jack and Heather. His father had previously been a professional footballer, with Brechin City.[3] Growing up in the village of Luthermuir, Aberdeenshire, Souttar attended Luthermuir Primary and then Mearns Academy in nearby Laurencekirk.[4][5]

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,[3] before joining Dundee United's youth system in 2006 at the age of nine.[3][6]

Souttar has a younger brother,[7] Harry, who plays for Stoke City.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10] Aged 16 years and 99 days, he became the youngest ever player to play for Dundee United.[11] On 24 January 2013, Souttar signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until January 2016.[12] 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.[9]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

Souttar missed the first three months of the 2014–15 season due to an ankle injury sustained in pre-season.[16] 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.[17][18] In October 2015, new United head coach Mixu Paatelainen played Souttar at right back in his first two matches in charge.[19] In all he made seventy three appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.[20]

Heart of Midlothian

On 1 February 2016, Souttar signed for fellow Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian (Hearts), agreeing a three and a half year contract for an undisclosed fee.[21] Speaking about his move Souttar said that he was "looking forward to getting stuck in and getting my career back on track,"[22]

International career

Souttar has represented Scotland at under-17 level,[23] making his debut on 28 August 2012, in a 0–0 draw against Belgium.[24] To date Souttar has made six appearances for them.[23] In May 2013, Souttar made his debut[25] for the Scotland under-19 team, against England.[26]

Career statistics

As of 1 February 2016[27][20]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dundee United 2012–13 Scottish Premier League 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2013–14 Scottish Premiership 22 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 27 1
2014–15 13 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 16 1
2015–16 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 21 0
Total 63 1 6 1 4 0 0 0 73 2
Hearts 2015–16 Scottish Premiership 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2016–17 16 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 19 0
Total 31 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 35 0
Career total 94 1 7 1 5 0 2 0 108 2

References

  1. ^ "Winners and Losers: Kieran Tierney - John Souttar - Hearts fans".
  2. ^ "John Souttar". uefa.com. Uefa. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Marjoribanks, Brian (5 December 2013). "The Gauld standard: Dundee United's Baby Messi first wowed at Brechin Under-Nines (and wasn't their sole star of the future)". Mail Online. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. ^ "John capped for Scotland U17s". mearnsleader.co.uk. Mearns Leader. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Mearns youngsters extend contracts for Dundee United". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Former Players with Senior Clubs". brechincityyouths.co.uk. Brechin Boys Club. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Stoke City sign teenage defender Harry Souttar from Dundee United". Sky Sports. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b "First Team — John Souttar". Dundee United F.C. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Aberdeen and Dundee United draw 2–2 in SPL clash at Pittodrie". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Aberdeen 2–2 Dundee United". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Ryan Gauld and John Souttar extend contracts". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Dundee Utd: Ryan Gauld and John Souttar extend their contracts". BBC Sport. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Dundee Utd 1–2 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Roache, Ian (29 April 2015). "Dundee United's John Souttar right at home in midfield". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  18. ^ Marjoribanks, Brian (11 May 2015). "Arsenal, Southampton and Celtic keep tabs on Dundee United youngster John Souttar". Mail Online. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  19. ^ Nicolson, Eric (29 October 2015). "Dundee United's John Souttar can be a 'top, top' right-back, says Mixu". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  20. ^ a b "John Souttar". soccerbase.com. Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  21. ^ "Souttar Signs". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Hearts complete deal for Dundee United defender". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  23. ^ a b "John Souttar Under–17". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  24. ^ "Scotland v Belgium". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  25. ^ "U19 Squad Matches". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish FA. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  26. ^ "England compound Scotland Under-19s' Euro misery". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish FA. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  27. ^ "John Souttar Stats". uk.soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
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