Saints lead race to sign Aribo for £10m

SOUTHAMPTON lead nottingham Forest and Fulham in the £10million race to sign rangers midfielder Joe aribo. aribo is a man in demand after an excellent season in which he was one of the ibrox club’s most used players, making 57 appearances and scoring nine times — including in the europa League final against eintracht Frankfurt. the nigerian, who joined rangers from charlton in 2019, has just one year left on his rangers contract and looks increasingly likely to leave Glasgow. southampton have moved to get most of their transfer business done early, with midfielder romeo Lavia also due for a medical in the next 48 hours ahead of a £14m move from Manchester city. While aribo could be set to depart, rangers have continued their strategy of signing emerging talent by securing a deal for Zak Lovelace, the second-youngest player to represent Millwall. the 16-year-old made four first-team appearances for the sky Bet championship side last season and has moved on under freedom of contract. he made his debut in December last year while still aged 15, becoming the youngest Millwall player since Moses ashikodi, who later had a brief spell with rangers. ibrox sporting director ross Wilson told the club’s official website: ‘We are delighted to welcome Zak to rangers. he is an exciting young player and one we are sure will progress here.’ aston Villa, meanwhile, have finally confirmed the signing of rangers youngster rory Wilson.