Ruben Selles has revealed that Joe Aribo's track record as a striker during Rangers run to the Europa League final inspired his surprise Southampton recall.
The Nigeria international has struggled to transfer the form he showed during his time at Ibrox in the English Premier League following his move to the south coast, and with the Saints facing relegation this term he was dropped to the U23s by Selles to ramp up his game time away from the first-team. It marks a remarkable fall from grace for the 26-year-old who scored in the showpiece final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, the Southampton boss handed Aribo a surprise recall to the starting line-up for the defeat to Crystal Palace as he made his first Premier League appearance since February - and his first start in the English top flight since December when Nathan Jones was in charge. And Selles opted to utilise Aribo as a striker - pointing to his heroics for Rangers as a factor in his decision.
