Southampton take the lead amongst Premier League clubs in race for Rangers star

Southampton have entered negotiations to sign Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo this summer. 

According to The Athletic, the Saints are confident of securing the Nigeria international and tieing him down to a deal spanning at least four years. A fee for Aribo will be at least £10m, which is the figure included in the Englishman’s contract with Rangers, and it is understood that the Scottish club will not accept a total package below that value.

The Athletic states that one other club are talking to the Scottish team over signing the 25-year-old but it remains unnamed. There have been other Premier league teams linked to the Rangers man in recent months and whether they challenge Southampton for his signature remains to be seen.

According to Football Insider, Crystal Palace are a club that kept tabs on Aribo and sent scouts to watch him in Rangers’ 3-1 win over Braga at Ibrox back in April. Clubs such as Aston Villa and Leicester City are also said to be interested in signing the midfielder, according to the Daily Record, but it is unknown whether one of these clubs is the other interested team.

Should he leave this summer, Aribo would have spent three years at the Ibrox and was part of the side that won the Scottish Premiership for the first time in a decade in his second season with the club under Steven Gerrard. Gerrard’s current team, Aston Villa, are one of the interested clubs mentioned above, which is most likely the other team involved in this race.

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