Rangers face a potential AFCON sweat over form forward Abdallah Sima after the Brighton loanee was recalled to the Senegal squad.
The 22-year-old attacker was named October’s Player of the Month in Scotland and scored in five consecutive matches for Rangers at a crucial juncture of the season.
Initially hailed as one of the few summer transfer window success stories in a revamped squad, Abdallah Sima has been rewarded with a recent recall to the Senegal international set-up.
Making the bench in the last round of international fixtures for a friendly victory over Cameroon, Abdallah Sima will hope to get his first Senegal caps since 2021 against South Sudan (H) and Togo (A) as the World Cup Qualifers get underway in Africa.
Sima to date has four caps for Senegal, all of which came over two years ago and it’s a testament to his progress at Rangers that he’s back in contention for his country.
Abdallah Sima lines up AFCON with Senegal
Whilst it’s great news for the West African forward personally, Rangers fans might have one eye on the club’s AFCON hopes at the turn of the year.
Senegal have been drawn in Group C for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations 2023 competition, where they’ll face Cameroon, Gambia and Guinea in the Ivory Coast.
With the tournament taking place between the 13th of January and 11th of February 2024, should Senegal go all the way then Abdallah Sima will miss several games for Rangers.
Whilst the winter break running from the 2nd to the 24th of January, Sima would likely miss a total of six crucial games including five Scottish Premiership fixtures and a Scottish Cup 5th round clash.
This would come as a major blow to the Ibrox club’s chances with Abdallah Sima one of the club’s top performers this season, netting nine goals already this season.
Signed on a season-long loan from Brighton in the summer – who paid Slavia Prague a reported £7m for Sima’s services in 2021 – the deal is likely going to be a short-term one for the Gers.
Despite the fact Abdallah Sima will be entering the final year of his contract at the AMEX next season, the striker is being very coy about a potential move to Ibrox.
Reports have also suggested that a move to Rangers is also not off the table as things stand.
Rangers have also long held an interest in Abdallah Sima, with one former Ibrox scout claiming the attacker was a target during his time in the Czech Republic.
Claiming that Rangers were priced out of a deal for the forward, Polish scout Piotr Kasprzak also branded the Senegal icon a striking “sensation”.
Abdallah Sima is also not the only player who could be heading to AFCON, only his Ibrox teammate would be turning out for Nigeria and not Senegal.
