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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is looking forward to working with Joe Aribo and has highlighted the player's key attributes that he thinks will make the midfielder a success at Ibrox, as reported by The Daily Record.
What's the story?
Aribo has still not been officially unveiled as a Gers summer signing but is reported to have agreed to sign with the Ibrox outfit after leaving Charlton at the end of his contract.
With Gerrard now speaking so openly about what the player will bring to Rangers, it's clear he is on his way to becoming a member of the squad in Glasgow.
The Gers boss appears massively excited about working with the 22-year-old, feeling that the player will bring a unique style of play to the middle of the park at Ibrox.
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As quoted by The Daily Record, he said:
"He’s mobile and dynamic. He can burst past a player, create and score goals.
"There’s still many areas of his game where he can develop but he’ll give us something we’ve not got in the midfield department.
"That’s the key. We have a good midfield, experience and young ones. But we don’t have this type of midfielder with the characteristics of Joe. I’m really looking forward to working with him.
"He’s a guy who can unlock defences. He’s left footed, which is something we don’t have in midfield. So he’ll give us more balance.
"Joe’s tall, athletic and quick. He’s a box-to-box player and is not afraid to open the door when he gets around the box.
"Last season he got into double figures for goals at Charlton so he’ll help in that department too."
Turning draws into wins
Rangers finished nine points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and outside of two derby defeats at Celtic Park, what was most damaging about their title bid was the amount of draws throughout the season.
The club racked up nine across the campaign, often failing to kill off matches in style despite playing against lesser opposition.
If what Gerrard says about Aribo is true, he could be exactly the kind of player they've been missing in the final third that can turn those draws against packed defences into victories.
It appears that Aribo is expected to have the vision that will allow him to play the killer ball for poachers like Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe to feed off of.
As the Gers boss notes, he scored ten goals of his own for Charlton last season, also contributing five assists. That kind of contribution plugged into the Rangers team could prove to be vital in a long title race.