Harry Souttar reveals physio chat as he explains ‘biggest difference’ from Stoke City to Leicester

Harry Souttar only had to point to his heart rate to point out the biggest difference between life in the Championship and Premier League.

Souttar, aged 24, had only time to play seven league games for Stoke City after recovering from a long-term knee injury before he joined Leicester on deadline day in January. His biggest tests, when fit again, had actually come when he starred at the World Cup in Qatar for Australia.

Still, it is a different challenge week by week in the top flight and he has already gone up against Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea as he cements himself as a regular in Brendan Rodgers’ team. He has impressed with his ability in the air and on the deck and stood out in a 1-1 draw with Brentford heading into the international break.

“The concentration has been the biggest difference for me,” Souttar told the Australian press.

“The physio said to me after the first week, ‘your heart rate is gone a bit high this first week’. I said, ‘Yeah, I didn’t need a heart rate monitor to tell me that’.

“The tempo has obviously stepped up. There’s no rest.”

He added: “I don’t think it would be fair for me to say there are no good players in the Championship because there are fantastic players in the Championship.

“In (Premier Leagues) games the big difference I’ve seen is for 10-minute spells you’re sprinting everywhere. Then there’s a little five-minute break and it’s back to it. The highs and lows would be the biggest difference for me.”

Souttar is back in Australia for a friendly double-header with Ecuador tomorrow and next Tuesday.

But he knows big matches are waiting when he flies back to England, making sure that Leicester – currently 17th and one point above the relegation zone – stay up. It is tight at the bottom and only four points separate Crystal Palace, in 12th, from Southampton, in 20th.

Souttar said: “It’s a dream come true to get there because every person wants to be playing their football in the top league. It started well with a couple of wins, and we’ve had some poor results, but if you look at the table, it’s so tight. From the 12th to the bottom, there are (four) points in it.

“Our fixtures have been really tough, but that’s what you want. Coming off the back of this (international) break, we’ve got four games with teams around us that are going to be massive in terms of where we finish at the end of the season.”