Rangers to take Joe Aribo back ‘in a heartbeat’ as £10million transfer verdict shared by John Hartson
Rangers should take Joe Aribo back “in a heartbeat” if they can afford to but it would have to be for a much-reduced price, according to John Hartson.
The Nigerian international left Ibrox for the Premier League last summer in a £6million move that had the potential to reach £10million in total [The Athletic, 6 July], but after a difficult season with Southampton has now experienced relegation from the English top flight.
With plenty of business on the cards for Michael Beale when the campaign ends the former Hoops forward believes bringing the midfielder back would be attractive, but might be financially prohibitive.
Hartson said on Go Radio’s Football Show, as per Football Scotland: “The fee would have to come down, it won’t be £10million. It would have to be at least a third of that.
“I’d take him back in a heartbeat if the opportunity was there but how would it work financially?
“Southampton will want some of the fee back if he’s out of the picture meanwhile Michael Beale wants to build his own team. And if they sign Malik Tillman?
“If he became available I’d take him. He knows the club and did well so why not. But it will depend on wages and fees.”
Reunion?
Aribo was a key contributor at Rangers, and Beale knows him well from the 55th title-winning campaign, so there are reason why it would be a return that would make sense.
After coming so close to being the face of an historic European triumph as he scored the Gers only goal in the Europa League final defeat in Seville, Southampton snapped him up for a package that totalled his £10million release clause.
But his fee, along with the near-£20million for Calvin Bassey to move to Ajax, didn’t lead to a big-money haul of arrivals coming the other way and the transfer business was a continued bone of contention before Beale arrived and signed Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin in January.
Aribo hasn’t had a particularly enjoyable time for his part of matters, barely playing more minutes in the Premier League this season than he did in the Europa League for the Light Blues last term.
He’s only featured for little over 90 minutes total in the league since the start of 2023, so unless Southampton are forced to change their mind on him amid an exodus post-relegation it looks like he could move on.
But whether the Ibrox boss sniffs an opportunity or not is another matter, as he already has plenty of other priorities to focus on this summer.
In other Rangers news, the club reached an impasse on a long-mooted deal and have identified an alternative transfer target as a result.