Scott Tanser To LEAVE St. Johnstone

26 year old English left-back Scott Tanser is set to leave St. Johnstone upon the expiry of his contract on the 31st of May after 4 years in Perth. While the defender has experienced a mixed spell at the club, with his 1-on-1 defending receiving a lot of criticism, Tanser has had probably his best season in a 'saints' shirt since the arrival of new manager Callum Davidson, with his attacking nature fitting well into the now preferred wing-back system. Tanser has played 27 Scottish Premiership matches so far this campaign, scoring 2 goals so far. The Englishman has been virtually ever present in 2020/21, playing 2014 minutes of football so far.

[Scott Tanser in actions for St. Johnstone - Image: @SNS]

However, he missed the recent home defeat against Celtic with a knock, only made the bench in the following trouncing of Motherwell and then the subsequent League Cup Final. He resumed to normal service playing 90 minutes away to Hamilton, but only managed 7 in the home victory over Hibernian. Callum Booth has provided strong competition for Tanser and is seen as the better defensively of the two by many.

Callum Davidson revealed in midweek that the Englishman's departure is likely and that St. Johnstone had attempted to enter contract talks, but have seen their efforts knocked back. Davidson said to the 'Courier' "It's looking less and less likely in our favour. We've tried our best to keep him but at the moment he's not given us any positive signs that he wants to stay." With Davidson effectively confirming the fears of many St. Johnstone fans that one of their most influential players of the last 4 years will likely be heading off in the summer to pastures new. The grass isn't always greener, some will be cautious to point out. Especially with the record of players who have left McDiarmid park rather prematurely in recent years not always being great.

While the potential loss of the left-back is a sore one for 'Saints' the old cliché "no player is bigger than the club" comes to mind, Tanser is not the first St. Johnstone player to move on and certainly will not be the last. The Perth outfit will be on the lookout for another gem in the summer transfer window and Davidson will know what he wants in a left-back, if only he could still play himself.

[Tanser in action - Image: @SNS]

One thing St. Johnstone have excelled at in recent years is finding diamonds in the rough, Tanser himself was picked up on a free transfer in 2017 after a failed stint at Port Vale where he was even labelled as being one of their worst ever players, what a turnaround he has had in Scotland. I am certain that the club will find a capable replacement and after February's League Cup win, St. Johnstone is an exciting place for players to go.

If Scott Tanser does decide to leave McDiarmid Park in the summer then I would like to wish him well for the rest of his career and thank him for his contribution to St. Johnstone during his time in Perth. He has been a solid servant to the club since signing in 2017.