Rotherham and Oxford have expressed interest in Nottingham Forest winger Gboly Ariyibi as reported by the Daily Mail.
The former Leeds United trainee spent the second half of last season on loan in Scotland with Motherwell, making eighteen appearances across all competitions for the Steelmen. It was an impressive spell that prompted reports the club was keen to offer the American a permanent deal, but it now looks like the League One rivals are eying a move for the twenty-four-year-old and offering him a route out of the City Ground.
Aribiyi’s endured a frustrating time at Forest since he joined for a fee believed to be in the region of £500,000 from Chesterfield in 2017. He is yet to make a senior appearance for the Reds, but he has enjoyed previous loan spells with MK Dons and Northampton. He was reasonably successful in Milton Keynes, scoring seven goals in twenty-eight outings in the first half of 2017/18 but failed to establish himself with the Cobblers.
Forest are now willing to allow the player to move on, as they look to trim a squad that is full of fringe players who are unlikely to be in the first-team picture next season.
Our View
Ariyibi is a forgotten man at Forest who at times electrified the Motherwell faithful last season with his exciting, pacey wing play.
He can be inconsistent, but if he finds more end product and improves his finishing, he could be a real asset in League One.
For differing reasons, both Oxford and Rotherham need to bolster their creative ranks, and it will be interesting to see if they can land a player who offers some great potential.
