'Pressure on Rangers' - GVB may now be forced to sell 6-goal star who 'waltzes' past players

Rangers are facing a situation whereby they may ‘have to cash in’ on Joe Aribo this summer, Pete O’Rourke has told Give Me Sport. 

Aribo is into the final 18 months of the contract he signed on his arrival from Charlton Athletic in 2019.

His current deal reportedly sees him bank £14,000 per week, which ranks outside the club’s top ten earners (via Salary Sport).

If Aribo were to stay at Rangers beyond the summer but refuse to sign a new deal, he’d be in a position to negotiate pre-contract terms with a foreign club from January 1.

And Football Insider reported last autumn that English Premier League side Crystal Palace are ‘keeping tabs’ on the midfielder.

Analyst Danny Corcoran believes he’s ‘definitely too good’ for the Scottish Premiership, noting that ‘he just waltzes past people like he isn’t even trying’.

O’Rourke believes Aribo’s future could effectively be decided in the months between now and July this year.

“It puts the pressure on Rangers maybe to have to cash in on him in the summer if they’re not able to agree on a deal,” the journalist said.

Losing Aribo would be a real blow for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers.

He started five of their six Europa League group stage matches and has been selected for 23 of their 26 league games, indicating that he’s a key player at Ibrox.

The 25-year-old boasts a strong return of six goals and six assists in his 36 outings across all competitions.

But according to Transfermarkt, at £9million, he’s one of their three most valuable assets, and so from a business point of view, it simply wouldn’t make a sense to risk losing him for free.

When you consider the extent of Rangers’ losses, £23.5million for the year, that ‘pressure’ O’Rourke talks about becomes even greater.

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