Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan admits he can imagine the Premier League club spending £10 million on Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo during the summer transfer window, speaking to talkSPORT (5 July, 12pm).
Odsonne Edouard found out last season just how steep the step up can be for a player swapping the hustle and bustle of Scottish football for the bright lights of the Premier League.
The former Celtic talisman marked his Palace debut with two goals in a matter of minutes in a 3-0 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur. The phrase ‘false dawn’ came to mind, however, as Edouard spent the final few months of 2021/22 twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines, overtaken and overshadowed by Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Edouard’s rather hit-and-miss spell in blue-and-red has not stopped Crystal Palace from throwing their name into the hat for Joe Aribo’s signature however.
With his current deal expiring in 2023, Rangers’ crafty Nigeria international could be available for a cut-price fee of £10 million.
And Jordan feels that Aribo ticks a lot of boxes. Especially for a Crystal Palace side side prioritising young, technically-gifted talent with substantial re-sale value.
Will Crystal Palace win the race for Rangers’ Joe Aribo?
“You can see him landing at a Crystal Palace,” says Jordan. “They’ve gone into the Scottish market and bought the boy from Celtic; Edouard. He did OK but hasn’t kicked on from that first game against Tottenham where he scored a couple.
“Aribo comes from that part of the world. He was brought up in Camberwell, which is just down the road from Palace. He’s also a good player. He doesn’t score enough goals but he’s a good player.
“So you can see Palace, or someone like that, spending seven, eight, nine, ten million quid on him. I think that’s probably where that would land.”
According to the Daily Record, Southampton are currently in pole position. A number of SPL imports – Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk, Fraser Forster and Stuart Armstrong – have made their name south of the border at the Saints.
And Aribo looks tailor-made for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s high-intensity, high-pressing style. A flamboyant and dynamic player, he flourished in a similar approach at Ibrox.
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