Journalist Pete O'Rourke has been lamenting the departure of Joe Aribo from Glasgow Rangers.

The Lowdown: Aribo leaves Ibrox

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team confirmed the sale of the Nigeria international to Premier League club Southampton on Saturday evening for a fee believed to be an initial £6m, rising to £10m in add-ons (BBC Sport).

The 25-year-old only had one year left on his contract, so the Gers could have sold him for more if he had more time remaining on his deal at Ibrox.

The Latest: 'Big blow' for Rangers

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O'Rourke has claimed that losing Aribo is a 'big blow' for Rangers, even going as far as to claim that he was the Light Blue's 'best performer' for a long period of last season.

The reporter stated: “It’s a big blow to lose Aribo. I think Aribo for a long period last season was maybe Rangers’ best performer, so to lose him is obviously going to come as a blow.

“But I think Rangers have decided to cash in on him this summer, rather than risk allowing him to run down his contract.

“He was into the final year, and it seems like he wasn’t near to agreeing a new deal at Ibrox.”

The Verdict: Hard to replace

Indeed, Aribo was one of Rangers' best players last term, ranking as their third-best performer on WhoScored and boasting the team's second-highest dribbling average (1.4) per game in the Premiership.

The Nigeria international played a whopping 70 times in total for club and country, with a tally of nine goals and 10 assists for the Teddy Bears, including a goal in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, replacing his energy and quality will be very difficult, and Gers supporters will be hoping that new signing Tom Lawrence can hit the ground running and perform as well as Aribo had done during his time at Ibrox.