Rangers star agrees terms to leave Ibrox for £30k-a-week
Scottish boss Russell Martin has plenty of things to deal with early on in his tenure as Glasgow Rangers’ new head coach ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The former Southampton manager has to build a squad that can challenge for the Scottish Premiership title, and has already had Lyall Cameron added to his midfield options.
However, Martin will also have to deal with the prospect of some of his best players moving on from Ibrox if teams come in with big-money offers for them during the summer transfer window.
Fiorentina and Marseille are reportedly keen on Nicolas Raskin, who is valued at £20m by the 49ers, and up to six English teams are said to be eyeing up Mohamed Diomande ahead of a possible swoop for his services.
The Light Blues are no stranger to cashing in on their top talents over the years, though, as players have moved on from Glasgow to pursue other options in Europe many times in recent seasons.
One deal that the Scottish giants hit the jackpot with, though, was the sale of Joe Aribo to then-Premier League side Southampton in the summer of 2022.
Why Rangers hit the jackpot with Joe Aribo
The Nigeria international was a terrific player for Rangers during his time at Ibrox, having spent three years at the club after joining from Charlton in the summer of 2019.
Aribo racked up 26 goals and 25 assists in 149 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues in those three seasons, and his final goal contribution was a goal in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The left-footed star’s form for Rangers attracted attention from down south and he sealed a move to then-Premier League outfit Southampton in the summer of 2022.
A reported fee of £10m was agreed between the two clubs for the attacking midfielder, who was reportedly being eyed up by other teams in the English top-flight, and that has turned out to be a brilliant deal for the Gers.
As you can see in the table above, Aribo’s value has plummeted down to just £5.1m, as per Transfermarkt, in the three years since the midfield star decided to move on from Ibrox.
The 28-year-old, who has scored nine goals and provided one assist in 109 games for Southampton, has not kicked on during his spell in England, which suggests that the Gers hit gold with the deal they got for him in 2022.
Rangers could repeat that masterclass this summer amid speculation that another one of their forwards could leave the club in the coming weeks.
Rangers striker set to move on from Ibrox
According to Soccernet.ngCyriel Dessers is poised to complete a permanent exit from Rangers before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Nigeria international is ‘set’ to sign for Greek giants AEK Athens, after he ‘set sights’ on a move away from Ibrox ahead of next season.
Soccernet.ng adds that the striker has already verbally agreed to sign for the Greek team and has mapped out a £30k-per-week contract to sign if the transfer goes through this summer.
The outlet reveals that the two teams still need to come to an agreement on a transfer fee for the player before a deal can be finalised, and it does not mention how much money it would take to get it done.
However, The Scottish Sun recently reported that the Gers are holding out for a fee of around £5m for the striker, who they paid £4.5m to Cremonese for in 2023.
If the Light Blues can agree a £5m deal to sell Dessers to AEK Athens, who Soccernet.ng claims is set to join them, then it could be an Aribo repeat.
Why Dessers could be an Aribo repeat
The 30-year-old number nine could follow in Aribo’s footsteps as another star performer who could decrease in value after leaving the Scottish giants.
His value has already dropped from £4.2m at the time of his Ibrox arrival to £3.4m at the time of writing (19/06/2025), ash per transfer marketwhich immediately suggests that a fee of £5m would be a great deal for Rangers.
That is in spite of a very respectable goalscoring return of 51 strikes in 109 matches for the Light Blues in all competitions over the past two seasons.
His value at AEK Athens, should a transfer go through this summer, could fall even further on Transfermarkt, despite a potential fee of £5m, because he may not have the chance to score as many goals.
The Greek side finished fourth in the Super League and only scored 48 goalswhilst Rangers finished second in the Premiership and scored 80 goals.
Cyriel Dessers (European comps + Premiership) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
---|---|---|
Appearances |
47 |
46 |
Goals |
21 |
18 |
Shots |
110 |
103 |
Shots on target |
52 |
51 |
Big chances missed |
29 |
31 |
Assists |
6 |
4 |
As you can see in the table above, the Nigerian striker missed a staggering 60 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership, Europa League, and Champions League combined in his first two seasons at Ibrox.
Dessers, who journalist Josh Bunting claimed is “awkward” to play against due to his physicality, scored a decent number of goals for Rangers because he was in a team that was constantly creating chances for him, as evidenced by how many huge opportunities he spurned.
Therefore, he may struggle to have the same impact in an AEK Athens team that did not create or score anywhere near as much as Rangers did in the 2024/25 campaign, which could expose his wasteful finishing in a side that does not create loads of ‘big chances’.
This means that Dessers’ output in front of goal could diminish as a result of signing for the Greek side, which is why his value could also plummet as a result of the move, particularly now that the striker is also in his 30s and heading into his latter years.

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Selling the experienced forward to Athens for £5m, if a deal can be agreed at that price, could be an Aribo repeat for Rangers as another player whose value could plummet after leaving.
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