Southampton Open Negotiations With Rangers For Aribo Transfer By Jude Obafemi Super Eagles’ midfielder Joe Aribo has become the subject of negotiations between Southampton and Rangers. In order to sign the 25-year-old, Southampton are in a race to beat English Premier League newcomers, Nottingham Forest and Fulham. But, hope is building for the Saints with negotiations moving further in their direction. Aribo, who transferred from Charlton to Ibrox in 2019, has a £10 million release clause in his contract with Rangers and, while the Ibrox team are believed to want the entire sum of any move to exceed the clause figure, Southampton would want to negotiate a slightly cheaper initial fee given that Aribo has only one year left on his current contract. After a stellar campaign in which he made 57 appearances for Rangers, scored nine goals, including one in the UEFA Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt, and assisted on another 10, Aribo is in high demand this summer and a move to the EPL has been expected even from Rangers’ fans. Due to injuries throughout Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s team, Aribo displayed his versatility even more. He finished the season playing up front after playing in attacking midfield, central midfield, right midfield, and down the right. Although three players have already been signed by Ralph Hassenhuttl during this window, more are expected. Romeo Lavia, a youngster from Manchester City, is also nearing a £14 million agreement with the Saints, and the player is scheduled to have a medical soon.