7 new players cannot replace Aribo & Bassey, says Premier League legend

Former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton has, in his column for the Scottish publication The Daily Record, warned that Rangers could regret selling their Nigeria international duo this summer.

Rangers recorded a windfall with the transfers of Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey to Southampton and Ajax respectively, with the latter pulling a fee that could rise to a Scottish record in sealing a move to the five-time European champions.

The influx of cash has allowed last season’s beaten Europa League finalists to make a splash in the transfer market, bringing in six new players. A seventh, in the form of Turkish left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Sutton, wearing his allegiance in the Old Firm divide unabashedly, pointed to Rangers’ less-than-stellar recent record in the transfer market, and stated his belief that, in allowing Aribo and Bassey to leave, the Gers have given themselves too high a mountain to climb to overhaul the Hoops in the 2022/23 title race.

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“In terms of Rangers, there look to be some decent signings on paper,” he admitted. “We’ll have to wait and see but nothing is guaranteed.

“We all thought Amad Diallo was going to be a smash hit in these parts, but that didn’t quite work out. Same goes for Aaron Ramsay. He was the greatest capture since Gazza but barely made a mark.

“Regardless of the arrivals, I believe Rangers might have been weakened by the departures of Cavin Bassey and Joe Aribo, even if it has allowed them to splash the cash they made. The new arrivals will need to settle quickly because there’s not going to be any margin of error this season, that’s for sure.”

Sutton also counselled Celtic to ignore the rash of transfer activity from the blue side of Glasgow.

“Some Celtic fans might be looking at the Rangers recruitment drive across the city and starting to feel a bit nervous about the coming season. But the people who matter inside Celtic Park need to ignore what’s going on in Govan.”

Despite Rangers’ exhilarating run to the Europa League final last season, it was Celtic who came out on top in the Scottish Premier League, reclaiming the title from their city rivals by four points.