Nigerian midfielder Joe Aribo may get a long-awaited move away from English Championship outfit Southampton, with Spanish La Liga outfit Villarreal set to battle it out with German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig for his services for the upcoming season.
He arrived on the south coast in the summer of 2022 and struggled to vmake an impact owing to his bit-part role. However, the 2024/25 campaign saw the Super Eagles star make 32 top-flight appearances for the Saints, scoring three goals, but it was insufficient in the end as the modest club suffered relegation to the second-tier.
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Spanish club Villarreal is now interested in signing Joe Aribo, a Nigerian midfielder currently playing for Southampton, joining RB Leipzig in the race to get his signature. This comes two years after Villarreal sold another Nigerian player, Samuel Chukwueze, to AC Milan.
Aribo, who has one year left on his Southampton contract, is likely to leave the club this summer. Since Southampton was relegated from the Premier League, several European teams have shown strong interest in him.
The 28-year-old wants to move away from the English Championship and return to playing top-level football.
Sources close to Aribo say he is not happy at Southampton and wants to join a club with European football and a clear plan for the future with a possible move to the Scottish side where he had a strong spell in Europe with Rangers, including scoring in the 2022 Europa League final.
Trabzonspor, a top Turkish club, are also reportedly interested and have contacted Southampton about a possible deal.
No official statement has been made by the player or the clubs yet, but with interest from Spain, Germany, and Turkey, Joe Aribo could soon be back playing in top-flight football.
