Joe Aribo's Rangers replacement named by Kevin Thomson as he explains why he won't be major miss

Rangers had only just got back to pre-season work after basking in the glory of a run to a European final. But before Walter Smith had even got the next campaign started he was signing off on the £9million sale of one his stalwarts to England’s Premier League.

Carlos Cuellar’s move to Aston Villa might have been 14 years ago but Kevin Thomson sees it as an invaluable lesson from history where his old club is concerned, now that Europa League specialist Joe Aribo is on the verge of doing something similar. With Southampton heading the £10m chase for Aribo’s signature, the Nigerian international has been excused from Giovanni van Brockhorst’s training camp in Portugal.

It seems only a matter of time now before a deal is completed which will leave a huge hole in Van Bronckhorst ’s starting XI. But Thomson was there in 2008 when Cuellar was lured across the border. And he is convinced Rangers will recover every bit as quickly if, as seems likely, Aribo’s time in Glasgow has come to an end.

Speaking exclusively to Thomson said: “Joe has been a brilliant player and a great servant to the club but he’s only got a year to go on his contract so there was always going to have to be a difficult decision to make. But when you consider they picked him up for three hundred grand a return of £10m has to go down as good business, even though I think he’s potentially worth a wee bit more on that in the open market.

“Look, it’s not going to be easy to replace a guy like that – I think he played more games last season than any other player in world football – so he’s obviously a very important player for the team. He’s also a great lad. I know him from my time working in there and he’s a really humble boy with a great attitude.

“Th