Alex Rae thinks Rangers could be signing a £6m player in Joe Aribo

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The Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, is expected to make the midfielder his seventh new Ibrox recruit.

The former Rangers midfielder, Alex Rae, has claimed Steven Gerrard’s side could soon have a £6 million player on their hands in Joe Aribo.

Rangers are expected to conclude a deal for Aribo shortly, after seeing off clubs including Celtic to sign the out-of-contract Charlton Athletic midfielder.

Being outside of England, Rangers will not have to pay as much in compensation as those south of the border – several of whom were also credited with interest in Aribo.

And the 22-year-old’s rumoured £300,000 fee could prove a bargain for Rangers, as far as Rae is concerned.

“For me, it’s a no-brainer. We see it time after time, where English clubs cherry-pick the best out of Scotland,” the Glaswegian told Jim White’s Talksport show on Thursday. “This kid’s obviously done very well for Charlton last year, I think he’s got 10 goals. So it was a good return for someone so young.

“Rangers and Celtic have obviously identified that he’s good value. I think it’s a £300,000 compensation package because it’s a cross-border (transfer). All of a sudden you have a talent on your hands. If Aribo comes to Rangers, does well, within a couple of years he could be worth four, five, six million.

“I think it’s a really good bit of business from Steven Gerrard, if he can get it over the line. He’s an offensive option as well. I think it was where Rangers struggled last year, due to the fact they were struggling to break teams down. So he’ll give them another option in that area.”

The Charlton manager, Lee Bowyer, revealed earlier that he advised Aribo to choose England over Scotland after it became clear the former non-league player would not be staying at The Valley.

“I worked so hard to get him to this situation he is in now,” Bowyer told London News Online. “It is about progression for him.

“So it’s a shame if he gets pushed to somewhere where it is not going to benefit him in his football career. If he goes to Rangers that is not the right place for him to go for his football career.”

Aribo is expected to become Rangers’ seventh signing of the summer transfer window, after Jordan Jones, Steven Davis, Jake Hastie, Greg Stewart, Sheyi Ojo and George Edmundson.