Southampton all set to offload Aribo during the forthcoming January transfer window

FORMER Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo is expected to leave English Championship side Southampton during the forthcoming transfer window and head to Turkey as the south coast side are looking to cash in on him before his contract expires next year.

Aribo, 28, has spent the last four seasons at Southampton but with the club being relegated to the second tier of English football at the end of last season, he was poised to leave. Several clubs led by Leipzig in Germany's Die Bundesliga and Glasgow Rangers of Scotland were said to be interested in securing his services but none of these deals went through and he has remained at the club since the start of the season.

Last season, Aribo made 35 appearances for Southampton in all competitions but was unable to help the club avoid relegation to the Championship. During the current campaign, Aribo has found game time hard to come by, managing only six appearances across all competitions, making an exit inevitable.

Aribo, versatile box-to-box midfielder,  has just six months remaining on his contract, meaning he will be eligible to begin negotiations with foreign clubs from next month. However, Southampton are not willing to risk losing him on a free at the end of the season, and are actively pushing for a sale in January.

According to the club's media outlet, Saints News, Turkish Super Lig clubs Göztepe and Trabzonspor have shown strong interest in securing the services of the former Rangers star. Southampton are reportedly demanding a transfer fee in the region of €1.5m from any interested parties.

Aribo joined the Saints from Scottish Premiership giants Rangers in 2022 and  is still a popular figure at the Ibrox after an impressive three year spell at the club. At the end of the 2022/23 season, several clubs made offers for Aribo following Southampton's relegation but the Saints refused to let him go, considering a vital to their promotion bid.