Away from the hustle and bustle of the summer transfer window where clubs are busy trashing out deals to bolster their squads, a major recruitment change is about to take place at Premier League club Southampton.

The club is close to appointing Manchester City head of youth recruitment Joe Shields as their new head of first-team recruitment.

Shields, who brought Jadon Sancho to Manchester City in 2015, has developed a reputation as one of the best spotters of young talented players in European football and is poised to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer to take up a more senior role at St Mary's.

It was previously reported that Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Crystal Palace were the frontrunners for the signature of Glasgow Rangers star Joe Aribo this summer but allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report with certainty that something else is brewing, with Southampton now genuinely working on deal to sign the Nigeria international in recent days.

Allnigeriasoccer.com takes a look at three reasons why the Saints revived their interest in Joe Aribo with Shields' appointment close to completion.

Cultural change

Manchester City practice a style of football that is unique in England. As such, they recruit young players into their youth system based on the tactical style that has been instilled in the club from top to bottom.

This is the basis that Shields has worked with since Pep Guardiola arrived at the club in 2016. Coming to Southampton as the head of senior recruitment means he has more power over the style of play to be implemented at the club.

Aribo is a good player in such set-up with his passing, dribbling and combinational play very useful in ball progression and retention.

Knowledge

As a renowned scout, Shields would already have first-hand knowledge of London-born Aribo's qualities as a midfielder having spent time at Crystal Palace and Fulham's youth system

His first-hand knowledge may help Southampton decide to speed up their interest in Aribo.

Value and Availability

Shields will be Southampton's first appointment of a major recruitment figure since the club was taken over by Serbian businessman Dragan Šolak.

As a first-timer in such a role without unlimited funds, there would be a need to find value-for-money players who have the quality and are ready to make an impact in the first eleven.

With a year left on his contract, Rangers are willing to make Aribo available for transfer which will be at a reasonable price due to the length of his existing contract.

This is a good deal for Joe Shields, and as a renowned scout, he will surely be looking at the possibility of getting the deal over the line.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

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