Harry Souttar reveals his mates ‘took the p***’ out of his own goal on his Premier League debut

Harry Souttar has revealed how his close mates kept him grounded after helping Leicester City to a 4-2 victory on his Premier League debut, with his pals latching onto the opportunity to mock him for his own goal.

Souttar, 24, was thrown straight into the starting XI by Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers just days after joining the club in a record deal for an Australian footballer.

The 6ft 6ins centre half joined the top flight club for $26million (£15m) in the January transfer window, with Rodgers desperate for defensive reinforcements having seen his side leak goals all season.

But it threatened to be a nightmare Premier League introduction for the Socceroos gun at Villa Park, when he turned an Ollie Watkins cross into his own net to give Unai Emery’s side a 2-1 lead.

However, the visitors responded strongly and managed to clinch a 4-2 victory, with Souttar putting in a strong second half performance to ensure no further goals hit the back of Danny Ward’s net.

Harry Souttar has revealed how his mates ‘took the p***’ out of his Premier League debut

Speaking to Australia legend Mark Schwarzer on Optus Sport, Souttar explained how he was met with messages of congratulations from his family after the game, although his friends weren’t so positive. 

‘I got on the phone and got texts from my family saying congratulations,’ he said. ‘Then I got texts from my friends taking the p*** about the own goal, so mixed emotions but that’s what family and friends are for.

‘I spent my whole life working to get to the Premier League and I’ve managed to do it, to get a small taste of it was fantastic but now I’ve got to kick on and try and play as many games as I can.’

Souttar lifted the lid on a whirlwind few days since arriving at Leicester, and talked Schwarzer through his emotions during his top flight bow.  

‘I found out the day before, the manager pulled me and said “how do you feel about starting tomorrow?” and I said “let’s do it”. 

The Australian star put the ball in his own net after 20 minutes against Aston Villa

However, he rallied and managed to keep the west Midlands side at bay as Leicester won 4-2

‘Obviously it was a great feeling. The World Cup helped me massively in terms of that kind of stage to play at. 

‘I was pretty settled but straightaway with the own goal after 18 or 20 minutes… listen these things happen, I’ve scored a few own goals before, you can’t really let it affect you for the rest of the game. 

‘The boys done well to get me out of it and we won 4-2 so hopefully it gets forgotten.’

Talking through his thoughts after his own goal was scored, Souttar added: ‘I can’t say what I was thinking on camera, I was thinking “this is bad”. 

‘But we scored again very shortly after and we go into half time leading 3-2, so we’re in a great position, we knew at half time if we keep a clean sheet we win the game. 

‘Then we get a two-goal lead which makes the last 20 minutes a little more comfortable. 

‘It was a great game, end to end game, tempo was really high. It was a great feeling.’