Joe Aribo has told Rangers will not extend his contract amid interest from Premier League trio Crystal Palace, Brentford and Watford, as reported by All Nigeria Soccer.
Patrick Vieira may have laid the foundations for a substantial rebuilding project at Selhurst Park but the loss of influential midfielder James McArthur to injury threatens to rip up the floorboards and undo much of the manager’s good work.
Crystal Palace have drawn one and lost three of their Premier League games without the underrated Scot.
The contrast between a Palace side with and without McArthur has been stark. It is only a few weeks ago that the former Wigan Athletic enforcer captained the Eagles to a famous 2-0 win away from home at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Could Aribo fill a McArthur-shaped void in Vieira’s suddenly spluttering engine room?
Well, the Nigeria international certainly possesses the bite, the tenacity and the ball-carrying skills to fit in alongside Connor Gallagher and co.
Is Joe Aribo leaving Rangers?
The Mail reported a week or so ago that Crystal Palace had joined Watford and Brentford in expressing their admiration for Aribo.
The one-time Charlton Athletic youngster, who moved to Ibrox in a bargain £500,000 deal two-and-a-half years ago, is due to become a free agent in the summer of 2023.
And it seems that talks over an extension are not exactly going to plan as far as Rangers are concerned.
The tragedy here, from a Rangers perspective, is that Aribo has looked a man reborn since the appointment of Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Steven Gerrard’s replacement.
In four games under Van Bronckhorst, he’s already scored as many goals as he did in his final 29 under Gerrard, revelling in the freedom afforded to him by the former Feyenoord boss.
“Joe is very good and he’s an important player for us,” Van Bronckhorst told The Sun.
“He’s been here for a few years now and you can see what he brings to the team.”
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