GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst has hailed Joe Aribo for his "fantastic" efforts at Rangers ahead of his move to Southampton.
The midfielder, 25, is set to make a switch to the Premier League in a deal worth up to £10million with a sell-on clause.
And Van Bronckhorst broke his silence on the transfer scenario as he saluted Aribo's development at Ibrox.
He told Sky Sports: "Joe is a very, very important player for us. He has been really good for this club for the last few years.
"At the moment he has the ambition to play in the Premier League. That is his ambition and that is probably what is going to happen in the near future.
"It’s what you want as a club, to get talented players into the club, develop them and eventually the player has their own ambitions.
"I think what he has done for this club is fantastic."
And while Aribo looks to be ready to head back down south, Van Bronckhorst confirmed Rangers are "very close" to signing Antonio Colak.
The PAOK striker jetted into the UK for a medical and is expected to complete a £1.8m move to Ibrox this summer.
And quizzed on the striker, Van Bronckhorst revealed: "We are very close with him.
"We've worked hard to get him on board. Hopefully he will join us really soon and give us some extra options up front.
"He's shown in the teams he's played for he can score goals. He's a really good striker.
"We want to be successful in all the competitions we play in so we have to have the squad to be able to do that."
