Celtic reportedly wanted to sign Joe Aribo from Charlton Athletic before Scottish Premiership rivals Rangers beat them to him.
As Joe Aribo curled home a glorious goal in Rangers’ 2-0 triumph over Progres Niederkorn on Thursday night, his second in three games for the Glasgow giants, Celtic supporters must have been wondering why on earth he’s not wearing green and white instead.
According to Goal, Celtic were battling Rangers for the signature of a coveted Charlton Athletic midfielder towards the end of last season.
But as Steven Gerrard’s side ramped up the pressure and landed Aribo for a bargain fee of just £300,000, according to The Mail, their rivals’ long-running and increasingly frustrating pursuit of a skilful, box-to-box all-rounder goes on.
Celtic might have reinforced their defence effectively while landing the wonderkid Luca Connell from under the noses of plenty of Premier League clubs but finding a new midfielder is proving to be easier said than done.
They will miss out on Romaine Sawyers too with the Express and Star claiming that West Brom have agreed a £2.9 million deal for the Brentford playmaker.
But at least Sawyers will be out of sight and therefore out of mind at The Hawthorns. Aribo, however, is already taking centre stage at a Rangers side hell-bent on bringing an end to Celtic’s eight-year reign at the top of Scottish football.
Even before he’s made a single league appearance in royal blue, Aribo is already starting to look like one of the best signings Rangers have made for many a year.
It’s impossible to get every single one of your transfer targets but, in Aribo’s case, Celtic might have missed out on a man who could take their most bitter rivals to the next level.
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