Southampton’s loss is Rangers’ gain as Joe Aribo shows Saints what they’re missing

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Premier League outfit Southampton reportedly wanted Joe Aribo before he joined Steven Gerrard’s Scottish Premiership challengers Rangers instead.

The definition of enigma; ‘a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand’.

Or, in other words, Sofiane Boufal.

The Moroccan winger is the most naturally gifted footballer in Southampton’s squad, a fleet-footed winger who took Ligue 1 by storm with Lille and earned comparisons with a young Eden Hazard. Hell, he was so supremely talented that The Saints even decided to spend £16 million, a club record transfer fee at the time, to bring Boufal to St Mary’s (BBC).

Three years on, however, Boufal has become synonymous with the phrase ‘wasted potential’.

Neither Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino nor Mark Hughes have managed to harness his considerable talents and it remains to be seen whether Ralph Hasenhuttl, a more attacking manager who gives his attacking players the freedom to express themselves, can succeed where his predecessors failed.

Boufal has enjoyed a lively start to the season under the former RB Leipzig boss but his performance in Friday’s home defeat to local rivals Bournemouth summed up his Southampton career in just 90 minutes; promising, exciting but ultimately rather underwhelming.

Relying on such an erratic footballer for cutting edge is a dangerous game and without Boufal there is a worrying lack of vision in this Southampton team – particularly in a midfield high on perspiration but lacking inspiration.

Oh no, Joe

So no wonder Hasenhuttl wanted Joe Aribo before the Nigerian international joined Rangers on a free transfer this summer, according to Goal.

The former Charlton Athletic youngster has taken Rangers to a whole new level both at home and on the continent, scoring four goals already while leaving defenders bamboozled with a shimmy of the hips, a perfectly weighted pass or a one-two played out in the blinking of an eye.

Aribo carries and creates, a buzzing hub of creativity in the centre of the park. He’s even been compared to Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha, the rainbow-flicking Bolton legend who brought joy to this oh-so serious game.

With Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg running into a Bournemouth brick wall and James Ward-Prowse firing wildly, desperately off target again and again, Southampton are crying out for a midfielder with class and composure in the final third. Someone like Aribo.

Their loss is certainly Rangers’ gain.