11th July, 2022
Nigeria international Joe Aribo has been speaking about his hopes and expectations after joining Southampton from Rangers on a four-year contract.
The 25-year-old Nigeria international joins for a fee reported to be about £6m, rising to £10m with add-ons.
Aribo spent three seasons at Ibrox after moving from Charlton in 2019, helping Rangers win the Scottish Premiership in 2021 and scoring in last season’s Europa League final defeat.
The versatile midfielder hopes he can realise his European dream again with the Saints one day, after putting pen to paper.
Aribo played in all 17 of Rangers’ Europa League games last season, from the qualification play-off to the final in Seville, in which he scored the opener against Eintracht Frankfurt, only for the Germans to triumph on penalties.
Also lifting the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup trophies in his time north of the border, the 25-year-old wants to be competing for honours once more on the south coast.
“I’d say definitely pushing for Europe, that’s a big one,” he said of his Saints ambitions.
“We want to do well as a club together, going on cup runs, pushing for semi-finals and finals, and having prizes to play for.
“It was a really nice feeling being out there, and the feeling of scoring in the final, but for me it’s all about pushing as far as we can go – pushing together as a team and getting the best that we can get together.
“It’s a good club, a good place to be, a family club. It’s exciting times here, I wanted to jump on board and get involved in it. I’m really excited to be involved in the journey and what’s to come for the club.”
Known for his versatility, Aribo revealed exactly where he sees himself slotting into Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side.
“He asked me where I prefer to play most. I told him just behind the striker in a right-forward position,” he added.
“He said it’s really good that I said that to him and not another position, so we’ve had a lot of chats about it. It’s a nice feeling to know that the manager has high hopes for you.”
