Abdallah Sima remains top of the list for Rangers fans as far as any prospective summer signings go.
The Brighton forward spent last season on loan at Ibrox and it’s fair to say that both parties left a big impression on each other.
But with Brighton holding all the aces over the 23-year-old Senegalese forward, any talk of Sima returning to Rangers has been pushed back to the final furlong of the window.
As things stand Rangers are clear they’re in no position to meet Brighton’s demands over Sima whilst the striker himself is clear that he wants to return to Glasgow.
Now, new Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has dropped the biggest hint yet about Abdallah Sima’s place in the German’s new-look Seagulls squad.
Sima left out of Brighton squad
With the Premier League season set to kick off next weekend, Brighton had their final pre-season friendly against Villarreal on Saturday.
In an impressive showing at the AMEX, Brighton ran out 4-0 winners over the La Liga side and will now be looking forward to starting their campaign away to Everton.
But Rangers fans will note that there was no Abdallah Sima in the starting XI or even on the bench for the thumping victory.
Brighton preferred to start with £33m summer signing Yankuba Minteh and Japanese attacker Kaoru Mitoma over the ex-Rangers loanee.
Even the likes of Amario Cozier-Duberry, Simon Adingra and Jeremy Sarmiento are ahead of Sima in the Brighton pecking order.
At the top end of the pitch, Danny Welbeck, João Pedro and Mark O’Mahony were preferred to Sima and it sends a message about the hitman’s status in the Brighton squad.
Whilst Abdallah Sima was involved in the Brighton squad and played in the club’s tour of Japan, the forward hasn’t been included in the last two pre-season friendlies back on UK soil having also been left out against QPR.
Rangers would ‘love’ Sima back
Rangers have made no bones about their interest in bringing Abdallah Sima back to the club this summer.
The striker also continues to drop major hints about his interest in Rangers, with Sima’s latest show of Champions League support proof he’s been bitten by the Ibrox bug.
With Brighton clearly preferring other options in their squad when it comes to Abdallah Sima, the only sticking point in negotiations is the asking price.
Philippe Clement has been clear that Rangers have two different transfer budgets dependent on qualification for the Champions League proper.
The Rangers manager has also spoken candidly about his relationship with Abdallah Sima and it’s clear that a collectively beneficial transfer solution is certainly not off the table.
“I’ve been in touch with him, of course,” Clement said when asked about Abdallah Sima.
“He’s like one of my sons. Abda loves the club. Abda loves the way of playing we had last season and his role in that. He loved his teammates and the staff.
“But at the end of the day, Brighton is the owner so it’s all about the money then. At the moment it’s not possible.
“But we will see along the way if there comes a possibility because we would love to get him back. We will see if it is possible.”
