£70k-a-week Southampton star tipped for Rangers transfer | OneFootball

Joe Aribo's immediate future at Southampton is up in the air ahead of the January transfer market

Marvin Bartley has tipped Southampton’s Joe Aribo for a return to Rangers in the January transfer window.

The Nigeria international’s contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign, leading to speculation over his immediate future at St. Mary’s.

The 29-year-old has struggled for consistent game time so far this season, making seven appearances from the Saints’ opening 20 league fixtures, none of which came as a starter.

Aribo joined the Hampshire outfit from Rangers in the 2022 summer transfer window, and he’s made a total of 95 league appearances in the time since then, including playing 53 times in the Premier League.

It remains to be seen whether Southampton will be willing to cash in on the midfielder midway through the campaign, but it could be their last time to recoup a fee for the player given how little time is left on his deal.

Joe Aribo tipped for Rangers return

Bartley has suggested that Aribo could be open to a return to Rangers in the January window as he is someone that enjoyed his time at Ibrox before departing for a reported £6 million three-and-a-half years ago.

The former midfielder believes that the 29-year-old’s lack of game time at Southampton could open the door for an exit midway through the campaign, as opposed to at the end of the season when his contract expires.

"I think that is one that could happen," said Bartley, via Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on YouTube.

"When a player enjoys somewhere, and obviously he had to leave because it was a really good offer that he got down the road, and he has not played as much football as he wanted to play.

"He is still a really, really good footballer and did well for Rangers.

"I wouldn’t be massively shocked if he came back in January."

Southampton have enjoyed a rich run of form under Tonda Eckert in recent weeks, with the interim coach overseeing six wins from the team’s last seven fixtures.

Aribo has featured in five of those victories, as well as defeats to Preston North End and Millwall, with the change in manager leading to an improvement in his game time.

Next up for the Saints is a trip to face Norwich City on 13 December in a 12.30pm kick-off at Carrow Road.

Joe Aribo January exit will depend on his game time

Aribo has been earning regular minutes in recent weeks, which could have an impact on his immediate future at Southampton.

A January move would’ve made a lot of sense had he continued to be left out of the squad under Will Still, but he’s now made six appearances under Eckert in recent weeks, albeit always from the bench.

Given the lack of time left on his contract, the winter window is their last opportunity to earn a fee for the £70,000 per week player.

But that fee is likely to be quite small, maybe £1 or 2 million even, so Southampton will need to weigh up whether that is worth it to lose someone who is, all of a sudden, providing some value to the team.