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Souttar was aware Hearts wanted £500,000 for a quick deal and Neilson said the player concurred with that valuation. Rangers made two bids but both came in at less than £400,000, leaving Souttar to join on a pre-contract this summer as planned.

The Scotland internationalist could feature against his new employers on Sunday when Hearts visit Ibrox. Neilson stressed it won’t be a big decision to play him, provided he recovers from an ankle injury in time.

“Not at all, to be honest with you. John is one of our best players and you want your best players to play. John knows the situation and he has dealt with it very well,” explained Neilson.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson with John Souttar at Riccarton.

“For me there is not a conundrum at all. I think it’s getting built up with everyone else talking about it. We have a squad here and he’s one of our better players. If he is fit he plays. If he is not fit he won’t play. That’s it.

“Everyone else talks about this and that but John’s a top professional and a top player and I know when he goes out on the pitch he will give 100 per cent. So I don’t have any qualms about it at all.

“I’ve spoken to John almost every day for the last month about where he is and how he is feeling and about how his injuries are, about playing and about the situation. I spoke to him again this morning and everything is good.”

Neilson added that Souttar felt Hearts should get a fee that reflected his value if he was to move during January. “Yes, definitely. Right from the start when we knew this was happening we spoke to John and said: ‘This is what we are looking for.’

“John agreed with it but the fee never came. At the end of the day if the money doesn’t get paid then the player doesn’t go. He’s been great right the way through. He understands the situation.

“He’s been here for a number of years and his main objective now is, first and foremost, to get us European football and secondly stay in the Scotland set-up. If he continues to play the way he has been playing he will do that.”

Asked how close Rangers’ bids came to matching Hearts’ price tag, Neilson remained coy. “That’s not for me to say but they were not what we wanted,” he replied.

Hearts will again be without three defensive mainstays if Souttar is not declared fit in time to play at Ibrox. Right-back Michael Smith and centre-back Craig Halkett are already sidelined with back and hamstring injuries respectively.

After consecutive clean sheets against Motherwell and Hibs, coaching staff are confident they have enough strength in depth to cope.

“The guys who have come in have done great,” said Neilson. “Taylor Moore has come in and done very well. Toby Sibbick came in more as a development with us potentially bringing him into the first team in the summer, but he’s come in and done extremely well.

“With Michael being out, Nathaniel Atkinson has played a lot more than we expected him too. The three of them have done great. I think having the basis of the rest of the team around them has really helped with Craig [Gordon] at the back, which is a big bonus.”

Atkinson, the Australian right wing-back, is settling into life in Edinburgh with the help of his compatriot Cammy Devlin. Both live in a complex with several of their Tynecastle colleagues.

“It does help as they all stay in the same area, I think in the same block,” stated Neilson. “There’s [Ben] Woodburn, [Alex] Cochrane, [Beni] Baningime all in the same area so that has made it easier for them all to settle in. They are all good characters, all about the same age, so that makes it a lot easier.”

The accommodation arrangement wasn’t designed by Hearts but the club seems to benefit from the camaraderie fostered away from Riccarton. “Nah, it’s just cheaper there,” joked Neilson.

“They like the areas and it helps having them all near each other. They are all at the same stage of their career, around the same age, and they don’t have kids or girlfriends, that kind of thing.”

The more serious business of winning in Glasgow now occupies the thoughts. Almost eight years have lapsed since Hearts last celebrated a victory at Ibrox. Neilson was also in charge back then, the first league match of his maiden managerial role.

“Winning in Glasgow is something we spoke about at the start of the season and something we want to do. It has been a long, long time since hearts have been able to do that consistently and we have still not done it.

“We have had a decent season so far but that remains an objective and we want to do that this year. We now have another opportunity on Sunday.”

With Rangers losing 3-0 to Celtic on Wednesday night, Hearts must be mindful of a reaction from the home camp. Although Neilson expects another game to be more infuential.

“I think the Celtic-Motherwell result earlier in the afternoon will have more of a bearing on things. How that goes will be reflected in the atmosphere.

“Potentially, if Motherwell can take something from Celtic, the crowd could be up for it. If it goes the other way then they might not be. We will have to wait and see.”

Robbie Neilson details Hearts' talks with Rangers over John Souttar and why defender agreed with stance on transfer fee

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