Aston Villa set to rival Palace and Brentford for Rangers hotshot Joe Aribo

Aston Villa have entered the transfer hunt for Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo.

Aribo, 25, who played a key role during Steven Gerrard’s title-winning campaign at Rangers last season, has attracted interest from numerous top-flight clubs including Crystal Palace and Brentford.

The Aston Villa boss is reportedly eager to reunite with his former colleague, plotting to make serious renovations to his squad this summer.

Having already signed Philippe Coutinho for £17million earlier this week, Gerrard plans to bolster his team’s spine in midfield and defence during the next transfer window, according to The Sun.

Before joining Gerrard’s Rangers, Aribo enjoyed his most fruitful campaign at Charlton in the 2018-19 season, helping Lee Bowyer’s side win promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.

He has since represented Nigeria internationally, scoring a first goal for his country in September 2019 against Ukraine.

Steven Gerrard has steered Aston Villa to 12th in the Premier League with three games to go

The versatile midfielder is mostly deployed as a deep-lying playmaker but is also capable of playing an attacking role on the right flank.

Rangers even turned to Aribo to play the first half of their crucial Europa League semi-final second leg against RB Leipzig earlier this month.

Alongside Aribo, Gerrard is also tracking Joe Gomez’s situation at Liverpool, keen to attract the defender to Villa Park with the promise of more first team football.