Southampton have emerged as frontrunners in the race to sign Rangers contract rebel Joe Aribo. The midfield playmaker is in the final 12 months of his Ibrox deal and Gers chiefs face a huge call this summer as they weigh up whether to keep him or cash in now.
But they may soon be forced into a decision as Saints weigh up a move. Record Sport revealed back in December scouts from St Mary’s had been sent north to keep tabs on the £300,000 recruit from Charlton. Crystal Palace, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have been previously linked with the 25-year-old Nigeria international but Southampton are also now taking a keen look as they eye up a summer swoop.
Rangers - who fly out to Portugal on Monday for a pre-season training camp – risk losing Aribo for nothing next summer if he stays. But former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor expects to see firm interest from down south in the weeks before the transfer window shuts amid rumours of a £10million release clause in his contract.
He said: “There will be clubs interested in Joe Aribo. If there is a £10million release clause I’m sure that will be met because of what he showed in the (Europa League) final with his goal.
"Every time I watched him over the last couple of seasons he’s been a player that’s stood out for me. He’s very comfortable on the ball, always shows that work rate and can play a number of positions. He’s a top player who Rangers will not want to lose, definitely.”
Meanwhile, Greek sources close to Antonio Colak insist a deal for the PAOK striker is inching nearer. However, the Ibrox club could be forced to wait until just 48 hours before the start of the new season to clinch Colak if PAOK don’t find a replacement before kicking-off their Europa League qualifiers.
The Light Blues have a £1.8million deal for the Croatia international agreed with the Greek Super League outfit and are ready to press the button after being assured Colak is keen on a move to Ibrox. But PAOK won’t authorise his release until they have brought in another frontman to provide cover for first-choice No.9 Nelson Olivieira.
Salonika boss Razvan Lucescu is close to agreeing a swoop for Fortuna Dusseldorf winger Khaled Narey but he is not viewed as someone who can lead his side’s attack. And with Lucescu insisting on having two recognised poachers for the start of his side’s Europa Conference League campaign, Gers may be forced to wait until the eve of their Premiership opener against Livingston on July 30 to clinch Colak’s signature.
PAOK travel to Bulgaria on July 21 to take on Levski Sofia in their first qualifier, with the second leg scheduled a week later. Lucescu was again quizzed on Colak’s future after he made a 45-minute run-out in Saturday’s pre-season defeat to Dutch outfit Groningen and said: “It’s not the time to be discussing individuals in the team, it’s about trying to make the squad better.
"I wanted to see how each player did and we are working hard to conclude what our best team will be for the opening games of the season. The squad is not big enough and we even had to play some players out of position against Groningen.
“We saw the way the team played, what worked, what didn’t work well, in terms of fitness, tactics. We need to stop the easy mistakes and these are games where we can do that and slowly improve.”
READ NEXT
