Lee Bowyer said Aribo’s decision to leave Charlton Athletics still hurts, but he’s impressed with his development since then.

Bowyer signed Aribo for Charlton Athletic, and he quickly became one of the stars in the squad.

Aribo later left the club for Scotland giants Glasgow Rangers when his contract with Charlton expired, but Bowyer revealed, he’s hurt by the decision to leave.

“Obviously from a selfish point I wanted him to stay with me and Charlton. He was going in a direction as a player, improving all the time and scoring goals,” Bowyer told talkSPORT, via Dally Record.

“I felt a bit hurt by it because I thought ‘hold on, I’ve looked after you here and I’ve pushed you and got you to have that option. Just give me a year in the Championship’.

“Which would’ve been also good for his career. It’s rewarding for me because I helped him get on that journey.” He said.

Aribo spent three seasons with Rangers, making 148 appearances scoring 26 goals and notching 25 assists.

He won the Scottish Premiership and Cup with the club and played in the Europa League showpiece in May 2022, where they lost to Frankfurt.

He later joined Southampton in a £10.5m deal.