Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray are interested in Southampton midfielder Joe Aribo, according to reports.
The 26-year-old midfielder was relegated from the Premier League to the English Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, after the 2022/23 season.
It was his first season with the Saints but despite starting the season with so much promise after a spellbinding 2021/22 with Scottish Premiership side Glasgow Rangers, he could not do much to prevent his new club from going down.
What went wrong with Joe Aribo in the EPL?
Wrong move? Wrong team?
— Adepoju Tobi Samuel 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) May 28, 2023
He cost the team £6 million but could earn them more in the summer window.
Aribo on list of players to be let go by Saints due to relegation
Relegation in league football means a huge financial loss as teams who fail to meet the cut-off points receive no compensation at all after a season of spending.
This is why teams fight to stay in their leagues and get promoted to a higher league where they can earn more.
Southampton will be hoping to return to the Premier League on the first time of asking but in the meantime, they will need to shed some financial weight to be able to afford their operating cost for the 2022/23 EFL Championship season.
Aribo joined the St. Mary's outfit after a summer spent sifting through a number of offers from various Premier League teams. Rangers also attempted to tie him down to a longer contract with a salary increase, but the former Charlton Athletic youth chose to chase his dream of playing in the Premier League instead.
He signed a four-year contract with Southampton but is now set to exit after just a year as the club have him on the list of players to offload to soften their financial burden.
He, alongside club and Nigeria Super Eagles teammate, striker Paul Onuachu, will be playing elsewhere next season by all indications.
Galatasaray is one of the clubs to be linked to him according to reports from Dijital Aslanlar, a Galatasaray fan platform.
Galatasaray'ın transfer listesindeki isimlerden biri 26 yaşındaki Joe Aribo.
🔗 (İlhan Tüysüz) pic.twitter.com/AaJXaXONfv
— Dijital Aslanlar (@DijitalAslanlar) June 5, 2023
There are no further details of the links but Goalball Live has gathered that the 2022/23 Super Lig champions see him as a good option to reinforce their midfield ahead of a title defence in the 2023/24 season.
Rangers should move for Aribo, former Arsenal man says
At the time of reporting, no other clubs have been in the news with links to Aribo.
Should the Galatasaray links fall through, the AFCON 2023 hopeful will be playing another season with the Saints, this time, in the second tier of English football. It is a big drop for the man who is considered one of the pillars of the Super Eagles midfield of the future.
After Southampton was relegated earlier in May, talks about a return for Aribo began to float around in the media space. Some in the Nigerian football news scene also suggested that he tuck his tail between his legs and return to the club where he almost hit legend status before opting out.
Joe Aribo (26)🇳🇬
Kadife bilek yani başka bir deyişle teknik ayakları sever bizim ülke taraftarı. Southampton küme düşmüşken Joe Aribo ismini buraya ikna eden büyük iş başarmış olur bence fark yaratır buraya gelirse. Yüksek pres şiddeti ve kilit pas oranı.pic.twitter.com/kiPLinuV5L
— Scoutizm #U20WC (@Scout1zm) May 28, 2023
John Hartson, who played for Arsenal and Rangers' eternal rivals Celtic during his playing days, came out in support of the move but noted that the price would be very low if Rangers were to make a move for their former superstar.
It remains to be seen if the Gers will act on this as Aribo is still loved at Ibrox.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
