Why Aribo missed Southampton's come-from-behind win against Okonkwo's Wrexham

Joe Aribo was absent from the matchday squad as Southampton staged a dramatic late comeback to defeat Wrexham 2-1 in their opening fixture of the new Championship season.

Speaking ahead of the match, Saints manager Will Still revealed that both Aribo and Manchester City academy graduate Samuel Edozie were deliberately left out as they assess their futures, with the pair at pivotal stages in their careers and weighing up their next moves.

Speculation over Aribo's future has intensified in recent weeks, with the Nigeria international featuring sparingly during pre-season. 

The Charlton Athletic academy product did not make the squad for friendlies against Brighton & Hove Albion and Eastleigh, was an unused substitute against Espanyol, played the second half against CD Castellón, started against Valenciennes and came off the bench in the clash with Gillingham.

Now in the final year of his contract, Aribo joined Southampton from Rangers in July 2022 and has since made 104 appearances, scoring nine goals and providing one assist. 

The 29-year-old is attracting interest from several European clubs, including Turkish giants Besiktas, with 24 days remaining before the summer transfer window closes.

On the pitch, Wrexham appeared poised to claim all three points after taking a 1-0 lead into the closing moments.

However, Ryan Manning’s brilliant free-kick levelled the scores in the 90th minute, before Jack Stephens sealed the win in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

There was also no Championship debut for Arthur Okonkwo, who remained an unused substitute for the entirety of the contest at St Mary's Stadium.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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