When Joe Aribo joined Rangers, it was met with the saltiest of salty responses from ex-manager Lee Bowyer.
The former Premier League midfielder berated the move, selfishly describing it as a mistake [Daily Record].
More recently, in that tiresome, patronising English drawl about the Scottish game, Charlton legend Chris Powell suggested the same [News Shopper].
Aribo himself shrugged off the criticism, calling the move to Ibrox a “no-brainer” [Daily Record].
And so far, he’s proving himself right – and his detractors wrong.
The midfielder has took to life at Ibrox very quickly and is already establishing himself as a key figure in this Steven Gerrard team.
One of the main selling points of Rangers to new players is those special European nights at Ibrox.
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We’re a club made for Europe and the promise of playing on the continent is undoubtedly something which would’ve baited the hook for Aribo.
You can see that by how outstanding he’s been in European competition so far. His three Ibrox goals have all come in Europa League qualifying.
Those strikes and his composed, creative, driven performances from midfield haven’t just caught the eye of Rangers fans either.
Nigeria have seen fit to give the 23-year-old a maiden call-up to the Super Eagles squad for an upcoming friendly match with Ukraine.
It’s something which Aribo described as a “dream”.
It’s also an achievement made possible by his performances in Europe and in front of a packed crowd at Ibrox. The fact he’s playing under Steven Gerrard has probably helped too.
Last season, Aribo was turning out in the English League One. Talk of him remaining at the Valley or moving to Brentford would’ve been a slight hop forward into the Championship.
At Rangers, he’s already taken huge strides.
This is a player making his mark in Europe. And now with Nigeria, he’ll get the chance to do it on the world stage.
Mistake? Far from it.
Moving to Ibrox is already shaping up to be the best move the highly-sought-after, future Premier League midfielder could’ve made.
