We must let Joe live his Premier League dream
VAN BRONCKHORST ADMITS THAT ARIBO HAS EARNED HIS MOVE TO SOUTHAMPTON
GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst insists Rangers could not stand in the way of Joe Aribo’s desire to play in the English Premier League with Southampton.
While Aribo prepares to move out, Antonio Colak is moving in — with the Ibrox club last night confirming a £1.8million deal for the PAOK Salonika striker.
And more new signings are likely to follow from the proceeds of a potential £10million agreement for star midfielder Aribo.
The Nigerian international was signed from Charlton Athletic for a knockdown fee in 2019, with Van Bronckhorst yesterday hailing the 25-year-old’s ‘fantastic’ contribution to the Ibrox side since then.
However, while entering the final 12 months of his Rangers contract, Aribo had interest from Saints, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest and made it clear he wants to return to England.
‘Of course I talked with Joe about his future last season,’ manager Van Bronckhorst told Sky Sports from Rangers’ pre-season base in Portugal.
‘But he has been playing for three years for Rangers and it’s the natural way for players’ careers.
‘Of course Joe wants to develop himself further and see where his level is.
‘Playing in the Premier League, there won’t come any stronger leagues than that in the world.
‘Joe was a very important player for us. He has been really good for this club for the last years.
‘His development was really good but, at the moment, he has the ambition to play in the Premier League.
‘So that’s his ambition and that is probably what is going to happen in the near future.
‘It’s what you want as a club, to get talented players into the club and develop them as really good players.
‘And eventually the player has their own ambitions. But I think what he has done for this club has been fantastic.’
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are also into the final 12 months of their contracts, with speculation lingering over defender Calvin Bassey.
Keen to protect any future transfer fees for the players involved, Van Bronckhorst confirmed that negotiations over new deals are already under way.
‘We are in talks, especially with players coming into the last year of their contracts,’ added the
Ibrox boss. ‘Of course, after the season we had last year, attention will come to your players.
‘So far, the interest we have in our players is not very high, apart from Joe, of course.
‘But, in football, you never know. You just have to wait to see what happens in the future.
‘Anything can change at any moment and we are working hard with Ross Wilson (Rangers sporting director) as well to make sure we are ready and getting the players in that we want.’
Last season ended in a heartbreaking Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the heat of Seville.
Yet Van Bronckhorst knows that the heroics of that campaign are now past tense. They offer no guarantees of reaching the group stage of the Champions League after four testing, precarious qualifying games next month.
Had it not been for a missed penalty, the Ibrox side might have made it already. When Aaron Ramsey’s sudden-death spot-kick was saved in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, hopes of automatic qualification for European football’s biggest competition disappeared. And, with those hopes, went a windfall of £30m-plus from prize and television money.
A costly failure, Rangers must now withstand two treacherous rounds of qualification — and will learn their first opponents a week on Monday.
Despite last season’s nights of glory against Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig, Van Bronckhorst is wary of taking anything for granted.
The arrival of new forward Colak serves as a timely reminder of just how easy it is to lose a Champions
League qualifier after the Croatian international’s goals for Malmo in a 2-1 win at Ibrox last August consigned Rangers to the Europa League rather than the more lucrative competition in UEFA’s brochure.
‘Of course last season gives us confidence,’ acknowledged Van Bronckhorst. ‘The run we had in Europe last year was really good against opponents who were involved as well in the Champions League last season. But it doesn’t guarantee anything for the season ahead.
‘We have to make sure we are ready and we are very focused and prepare really well for those games.
‘We have the chance to go forward to the group stage of the Champions League, which will be very important for us as a club, for the team and for the development of our players.
‘We will push ourselves really hard to be involved in the group stages.’
For Rangers supporters, the transfer window has been an unsettling business so far.
While champions Celtic use the security offered by automatic qualification for the Champions League to throw money at new signings Jota, Cameron CarterVickers, Alexandro Bernabei, Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Siegrist, their Glasgow rivals have been a little slower out of the blocks.
Colak’s arrival will be signed and sealed pending the results of a medical. Yet the imminent loss of Aribo to Southampton adds a note of apprehension to preparations for the new season.
The sale of the playmaker — and possibly others — will generate cash for new senior scout John Park to find quality replacements.
And, as Ange Postecoglou showed at Celtic last summer, how quickly players arrive has always been less important than how good they are.
‘I’m very excited,’ said the Rangers boss of the new season. ‘Last season is over and we are now looking ahead to the new season.
‘We are very focused and prepared for the season ahead.
‘Of course we still expect some new players coming in. The season starts with Livingston away, and then shortly after that we also play in the Champions League to try to get into the group stage.
‘August is going to be a very important month and we have to be ready.
‘But we are in all competitions at the start and, being the manager and being a player for Rangers, you know that comes with expectations.
‘That’s what we all feel and we are all working hard to achieve those ambitions.’