As Rangers attacker Fashion Sakala says his emotional goodbyes, the Zambian’s switch to Saudi comes just in time to hijack any Stoke City talks over Luis Palma.
The Gers will need to replace the erratic attacker’s substantial if not unpredictable contribution, with Sakala contributing 20 goals last season, scoring 12 of them himself.
Whilst there were big misses and a lack of reliability in front of goal, no-one can argue against the fact Fashion Sakala was a genuine option for Rangers and there is now a hole in the squad where the attacker once was.
Even if there has been much criticism of Fashion Sakala in recent weeks, there is a reason why Saudi side Al-Fayha are ready to pay as much as £4m for the attacker’s services.
Rangers’ forward line has undergone a substantial revamp this summer, with Sam Lammers, Abdallah Sima, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo all coming in, but fans remain unconvinced.
Danilo aside, the recent scoring record of the other four leaves a lot to be desired and given the club’s drab defeat to Kilmarnock at the weekend confidence in the team is low.
But as Fashion Sakala says his goodbyes to Rangers, attentions should quickly turn back to Honduran winger Luis Palma who has most recently been touted for a £3.5m move to Stoke City.
Luis Palma can replace Fashion Sakala influence at Rangers
A report in the Daily Mail last week claimed Alex Neil’s side are on the hunt for the 23-year-old Aris winger, who scored 13 goals for the Greek Super League side last season.
The report believes that Stoke are set to open talks over the transfer of the player, with Rangers mentioned as an interested party alongside Watford and Trabzonspor.
Rangers haven’t been mentioned as a Luis Palma suitor recently, but earlier in the summer reports in Greece had suggested the Gers had made a bid and that a deal fell apart over Aris’ asking price.
Even with the investment in Rangers’ forward line, it was clear that Fashion Sakala was going to be an important player in the team given his involvement in pre-season.
Whenever the move to Saudi is officially signed off, Rangers will need to replace his influence and by resurrecting those links to Luis Palma the Ibrox side can soften the blow.
