The details surrounding the proposed Southampton move for Rangers star Joe Aribo have emerged with the Ibrox side set to recoup up to £10m for the Nigerian international this summer.
This is believed to be the release clause in the ex-Charlton midfielder’s contract, with the 25-year-old set to move to St Mary’s on a four-year deal.
That’s according to the Athletic and Jordan Campbell, who have been close to the deal since it broke, with Rangers also inserting a “significant” sell-on clause into the transfer.
Considering Rangers only signed the player for a reported £300k – and that Joe Aribo has made a significant contribution to the club since joining – that’s good business in anyone’s book.
Perhaps some Rangers fans might value the midfielder a little higher but given the player is entering the final year of his deal it was time to cash in or lose out.
There’s also the suggestion – although not official – that a release clause was necessary in order to lure Joe Aribo north of the border in the first place way back in 2019.
There was also some confusion surrounding the deal as Fabrizio Romano fed the hungry hordes of Celtic fans eager to offer their expert financial analysis.
On Twitter, the Italian transfer journalist claimed that the deal to bring Joe Aribo to Southampton started at £6m.
Contrary to reports, this is the same amount the journalist claimed on his official Facebook page.
However, for anyone worrying about the details of the deal, every transfer in world football is generally structured and without knowing the details, we’re reasonably confident that Rangers will have negotiated their side of the bargain effectively given the circumstances.
Lee Bowyer to eat words Rangers’ Joe Aribo heads to Southampton
The move to Southampton will also see former Charlton boss and Joe Aribo manager Lee Bowyer hilariously eat his words after the ex-Addicks boss fumed when the Nigerian moved north three years ago.
Let’s run those quotes back one last time:
“I worked so hard to get him to this situation he is in now.
“It is about progression for him. So it’s a shame if he gets pushed to somewhere where it is not going to benefit him in his football career.
“If he goes to Rangers that is not the right place for him to go for his football career.
“You have got Rangers and Celtic who are massive clubs, I get that. And I get that Steven Gerrard was a great player, so that’s an attraction. Those two things are the attraction – but not everything else.
“It doesn’t make sense on the football side. When people from England go and play for Celtic and Rangers it is at the end of their careers.
“That’s because it is very rare you get a move from Rangers to the Premier League, and I don’t mean any disrespect by that.
“They might go from Rangers to the Championship, very rarely is it to the Premier League. For me he should stay in England and keep progressing. The move should benefit Joe.”
Ye of little faith.
To be fair to Bowyer, the move to Rangers didn’t really benefit Joe Aribo after all, except when you count those massive European nights, the 55 title-winning medal, the Scottish Cup, the adulation of hundreds of thousands, the goal in the Europa League Final, the 20 Nigeria caps, or even this move to Southampton.
As Joe Aribo prepares to leave the club for Southampton, one Rangers signing gets closer by the day as an international player heads to Scotland for a medical.