The breaking Rangers news of John Souttar’s imminent new contract reveals a number of observations which Ibrox Noise will take you through as we go.

Firstly that the defender is now widely-regarded by Philippe Clement as his first choice CB, and as long as he stays fit, he will be number one – he is definitively the replacement for Connor Goldson and will permanently reside on the right hand side of defence.

Secondly, that Rangers refuse to allow asset players to leave for free any more. True, Souttar wasn’t out of contract till 2026, but the reality is he’s a first pick now, and Rangers are desperate to avoid a Lundstram or Barisic situation happening again.

But thirdly… we thought we’d stopped rewarding players for ‘doing their job’ by giving them a new contract and pay rise. We went into a raft of those in recent years, giving out big fat new contracts to players, Morelos, Jack, Tavernier and others, and so many of those players left for nothing.

We’re not sure why Souttar is being given this new deal now, and if he was intending to stay, why not reward him next year?

But we suppose, this confirms he’s first pick first choice and Clement’s man in defence, alongside, when he’s fit, new man Robin Propper, so that will take care of that.

Ibrox Noise are big fans of Souttar, a guy who wasn’t getting the credit he deserved. Probably, from some, he still isn’t, but Clement’s decision speaks louder than any fans do.

So there we have it.