Rangers could be about to land their most significant signing of the summer so far and hugely enhance Philippe Clement’s transfer business.
The Belgian has landed a series of talented youngsters to flesh out the depth of the squad so far, while adding a solid back-up keeper in Liam Kelly, with moves for Oscar Cortes and Connor Barron arguably the biggest yet.
But the attack is looking light, despite the imminent arrival of another forward with a lot of potential in Hamza Igamane.
With the race to sign 22-goal Cyriel Dessers developing [Rangers Review, 3 July] and widespread speculation that captain, and top scorer, James Tavernier is set to leave Ibrox the club are facing the departure of a huge proportion of their attacking output from last season.
So the fact that signs are starting to point towards Abdallah Sima returning from Brighton could be a hugely beneficial to Clement’s hopes of a title, and provide a “massive boost” in the words of Ibrox News pundit Derek Ferguson.
Senegal international was star under Philippe Clement at Rangers
The Senegalese forward was the best attacker in the Rangers squad last term and were it not for a significant injury picked up while away at the Africa Cup of Nations in January that derailed his campaign would have almost certainly added a significant number to the 16 goals he scored in all competitions.
He took to Instagram on Wednesday (3 July) to post a highlights compilation of his year in Glasgow with the caption: “23/24 – end – one to never forget. More to come – soon.”
While such videos are not uncommon from players, and isn’t a guarantee that he is headed back to Ibrox, his loan effectively ended over a month ago at the end of the season so posting it now as a tribute to the previous campaign would be oddly timed.
In contrast there have been developments at the Amex of late that look to have helped clear the way for a Rangers return, as the Seagulls confirmed a new manager in Fabian Hurzeler on 15 June, and the German has now had time to assess his squad.
Additionally the Premier League side confirmed the signing of Gambian winger Yakuba Minteh from Newcastle this week for a reported £30million [BBC Sport, 1 July] which seems an unnecessary expense if Sima was finally set to get his chance.
Fabian Hurzeler brings big-money Newcastle winger to Amex
4 Lads Had A Dream certainly wasn’t pouring cold water on the idea of Sima coming back in the comments, posting: “I hope it’s not the last we see of him, Huge Fan of Abdallah Sima”.
The 23-year-old made it clear on more than one occasion that he would personally be happy to remain with the Light Blues, and he is sure to know how his video would be construed.
It is possible that he is now bound for another move elsewhere, but if he is surplus to requirements in England he has just issued a very public reminder of his personal success in Scotland, and with Rangers missing out on an expected deal for Yusuf Kabadayi from Bayern Munich [Tobi Altschäffl, 3 July] it may be that the stars have aligned for the club to bring back their best forward threat once more.
Doing so would be a game-changer for a transfer window where a star forward looks necessary, amid links to Lawrence Shankland at Hearts and Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski, instantly improving the wide men while providing a strong option through the middle as the hunt for a top number nine goes on.
