The end of the January transfer window is fast approaching and Glasgow Rangers have been relatively quiet throughout the month so far.

Todd Cantwell, who joined on a permanent deal earlier this month, has been the only senior addition of Michael Beale's first window in charge at Ibrox.

However, the English attacker may not be the final signing of January. One player who has been tipped for a potential return to Ibrox before the end of the month is midfielder Joe Aribo, who left the club to join Southampton last summer.

Writing in his Daily Record column on Sunday, Rangers icon Kenny Miller perhaps surprisingly claimed that Beale is sure to have looked at a possible deal to sign the dynamo on loan, if the forward is available.

Saints boss Nathan Jones recently refused to rule out exits for the fringe players in his squad, admitting that he would like to have a tight group of players heading into the second half of the season, and the ex-Gers man could fall into that category.

The 26-year-old has not started a Premier League match in 2023 and has been an unused substitute for Jones in three of their last four matches in all competitions, which suggests that the gem is out of favour at St. Mary's and potentially on the chopping block heading into deadline day.

Beale must now pursue a swoop to bring the attacker back to Ibrox as the 26-year-old could be a big upgrade on current attacking midfielder Scott Arfield.

Since the start of last season, the 34-year-old has plundered eight goals and one assist in 49 Premiership appearances for the Light Blues under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Beale.

The former Burnley man's end product has been inconsistent and Aribo could come in as an upgrade on him in that department as his previous form for Rangers suggests that he'd offer far more in the final third.

Ezri Konsa, who played with Aribo at Charlton, previously compared him to a former Manchester City goalscoring midfielder, saying: “Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game."

In his last season for the Gers, Aribo certainly lived up that comparison, racking up eight goals and five assists, whilst creating nine 'big chances' for his teammates, in 34 Premiership appearances. That came after managing seven goals and four assists in 27 starts during the previous campaign.

The Nigeria international is already a proven performer and has worked with Beale before, during Steven Gerrard's tenure, meaning the gem could hit the ground running and be an immediate Arfield upgrade if he returns to Ibrox.