Russell Martin sends Harry Souttar transfer message with Leicester City stance
· Josh Holland · 2026-08-07 · nguồn gốc
Leicester City boss Russell Martin has insisted it would take an "awful lot of money" for the club to consider selling Harry Souttar this summer.
The defender has been the subject of strong transfer interest from Sheffield United this window, with the Blades falling short with opening bids. Souttar spent the first half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Bramall Lane and is well-liked in Sheffield.
Chris Wilder has twice commented on the Leicester defender, confirming the club's intention to sign him on a permanent basis. However, City have stood firm on their valuation for the Australian and Ben Nelson's ACL injury means the Foxes are light at centre-back.
Speaking on Friday, Martin reiterated his stance that he wants to keep Souttar at the club and said the defender remains happy at the King Power Stadium.
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"I think any player in any club in the world is for sale at any point, if it’s for the right money," he told LeicestershireLive. "I can’t come out here and say ‘Harry is definitely not for sale’.
"If it was my choice, he wouldn’t be, even if someone came in with an astronomical amount of money, but I’m not the money man. So for me, he’ll be here. He’s happy to be here. He’s trained fantastically well.
"He’s everything I thought he would be in terms of a professional, honest, hard-working, vocal, puts his body on the line, even in training - he’s been amazing.
"I think it would take something very big for him to leave here, and if it was right for the club and for him, then it means that someone’s paid an awful lot of money to get the man that they want. Right now, it’s so far away from that, it’s not even a discussion.
"That’s why everyone can be quite calm about it, including Harry. He’s not come to me once and said he wants to leave. I think he’s very happy and he understands that playing this way can be really good for him. So as long as he’s happy, I’m happy and everyone’s happy, we’re good."
Martin also confirmed that Souttar will captain his side against Northampton Town tomorrow afternoon. He said: "Harry will captain the team tomorrow. He captains his country, he’s played at the World Cup. He’s been brilliant in pre-season since he’s been back, so he’ll captain the team tomorrow and then we’ll assess everything during the rest of the transfer window."
He added on the decision of a club captain: “We’ll have to wait until the end of the window. I did the same at Southampton, James Ward-Prowse captained the team in the first game and then didn’t play for us again.
"So I think we have to be open and flexible with it, but tomorrow, Harry will be captain, I think he deserves to be. He’s a real leader, and then we’ll assess it as and when it goes.
"If we feel it’s necessary to name a club captain at some point, we will. I don’t get too tied up in that stuff. He’ll captain the team tomorrow and then we’ll keep assessing it after that."