I’m sure I read a report over the weekend that Aston Villa were looking to make a bid for Joe Aribo for a fee in the region of £7million, Crystal Palace and Brentford also being credited with an interest.
It must have been a misprint because, even if he is in the last year of his contract, both Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard went for twice that and neither of them have the highlight reel against top opposition that the Nigerian has.
Alan Hutton spoke in the past about how his performances in Europe were what persuaded Tottenham Hotspur to pay £9m for him, not ones against Ross County or St Johnstone, and you can see why, it will be exactly the same for every Rangers player that leaves from now on.
Technically, Aribo is as good as any player in our team but I still couldn’t tell you what his best position is and I don’t think Steven Gerrard or Giovanni van Bronckhorst could either having played in about half a dozen different ones this season alone.
I’ve already said that if there are two key players that I would be comfortable about leaving it is Aribo and Glen Kamara, I think they are both wonderful footballers but there are times – especially in Scotland – where their form dips and we could be better served looking in another direction.
A fee of £7m is a joke though, he’s a proven and established international who can play a variety of attacking positions, he is also an asset for any team out of possession too, add that to his 6ft 3inch frame and you have a near perfect modern footballer.
We sold Nathan Patterson, a promising player, for £12m plus add-ons, this should be the starting point for any negotiations if the 25-year old is to leave this summer and he would be worth every penny.