Scottish pundit Si Ferry said he is shocked a good player like Joe Aribo would be offered to Southampton for £6m despite his contribution and importance in the field of play.
Ferry adjudged the Super Eagles midfielder as strong, does the box-to-box runs, creates opportunities and scores goals.
According to the soccer pundit, who praised the £20m move of Calvin Bassey to Ajax, a deal that will potentially rise to £22.5m, Aribo’s national teammate only performed for six months to become Rangers’ record sale.
“£20m is the most that clubs in Scotland will get for a player now. If you look at Kieran Tierney, who was exceptional in the league over the course of a couple of years, he left for £25m and so you look at Calvin Bassey who’s only really performed consistently for six months – for me £20m is a no brainer,” Ferry told Grosvenor Sport.
“Joe Aribo’s £6m fee was more of a shock for me. He can run box-to-box, he’s strong, can tackle and also score and create goals,” the soccer pundit added.
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The 26-year-old joined the Gers for a nominal fee of £300,000 from Charlton while other sources reveal it was on a free transfer. Either way, Rangers made huge profit in a deal that will potentially rise to £10m from add-ons.
However, Ferry rethought that Aribo’s drop in form in the peak of the last season’s campaign for the Gers would have culminated into the £6m offer from the Saints.
Furthermore, the Super Eagles midfielder had a year left in his contract at Ibrox which Rangers had to capitalise on than to lose him on a free transfer.
“But maybe, because he wasn’t as effective in the last three months of his Rangers career as he was in the first six months of the season, the price tag came down a little bit,” he said.
“Based on his quality alone I’d have been wanting a bit more than £6m but what Scottish clubs don’t want is players running down their contracts and going for free so if there is a hint that Aribo is looking for a move away, it’s so important that clubs do get a bit of money for them,” Ferry added.
Aribo made his debut for the Saints at Tottenham on Saturday under Ralph Hasenhüttl where they fell 4-1.
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