Rangers manager Philippe Clement has expressed his desire to keep forward Abdallah Sima on a permanent basis.
The Senegalese international has impressed since joining on a season-long loan from Brighton in the summer, and Clement says he wants discussions to begin about keeping him at Ibrox as soon as possible:
“If he is continuing what he is doing now, I think this is also a good place for him to grow, as a player, as a person, in everything. It’s not about assessing that in the summer. There will be talks faster than that. But of course, it’s really early to be doing that now.”
“The most important thing is that Abdallah is performing and that he feels really good in the club. That’s the first step so we can build on that.”
Sima has been in great form for Rangers
As Clement mentions, the 22-year-old has been excellent since making the switch to Glasgow, scoring 12 goals in 26 appearances for the Gers so far.
At the weekend, Sima played a pivotal role in the 2-0 win over St Mirren, bagging a brace for his team. He also scored the winner against Hearts on Wednesday evening as the Light Blues look to keep pace with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Will the club be able to afford the winger?
At this week’s AGM, Rangers chairman John Bennett assured fans that the funds will be there for Clement to spend in future transfer windows, despite the club losing £10.5m last year.
Whether the transfer budget will stretch enough to secure Sima’s signature, though, it remains to be seen. Brighton bought Sima from Slavia Prague for £7m in 2021 and, after performing well this season, they are unlikely to sell the winger for less than they paid for him.