Rangers transfer news: Charlton boss Lee Bowyer admits it’ll be ‘difficult’ to keep Joe Aribo amid Premier League and Gers interest
Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer has told talkSPORT it will be ‘difficult’ for the Championship club to keep Rangers target Joe Aribo.
The talented midfielder is attracting strong interest from Premier League sides and Rangers, with his Addicks contract set to run out at the end of the month.
Lee Bowyer speaks to Jim White about the last 48 hours at Charlton
Aribo, who scored 10 goals as Charlton won promotion back to the Championship last season, has reportedly been offered a £20,000-a-week deal by the Scottish giants.
And Bowyer is aware interested clubs will ‘blow us out of the water’ when it comes to contract offers for the 22-year-old.
The former Newcastle and Leeds star will be working on the smallest budget in the Championship while unpopular owner Roland Duchatelet attempts to sell the club.
Bowyer told talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast: “The difficult thing is he had such a good season, it was his first full season and he came on so much and improved.
“For me, he needs to stay and learn more, there are still points of his game that he needs to improve on and he knows that. I speak to him all the time and the hard thing is that we have a budget.
“There are other clubs who are interested in him, we can’t deny that, they are going to blow us out of the water with what he gets offered.
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“We can’t fight against that. At the end of the day, we have a budget and that’s what it is. So, it’s going to be tough to keep Joe.”
Aribo has made 97 first-team appearances since joining Charlton from non-league club Staines Town in 2015.
The Addicks are set to receive a small compensation fee if he joins Rangers.
Bowyer added: “If there had been clubs in and around our league in the Championship or even League One trying to get him then he would’ve stayed with us, for sure.
“But at the moment, I spoke to Joe yesterday, there are Premier League clubs in for him and you’ve got Rangers who are interested in him as well, and there are also clubs in France and Germany.
“So we’ve got tough competition to fight against, but Joe does love it at Charlton, and he wants to stay.
“But when a Premier League club comes in for you and everyone knows financially it’s very good, but not just the financial side, it’s the playing side, playing against the top players in the world every week, then it’s a tough thing for a kid to turn down.
“Everyone wants to play at the top and be the best they can. I’ve been in the game so I understand where he’s coming from.
“I hope we can keep him, but I think it’s going to be difficult.”