Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller believes there are ‘question marks’ hanging over new Ibrox additions Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima.
Like Todd Cantwell before them, both Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima arrive at Rangers looking to kick-start a career which has gone somewhat off the rails in recent years.
Lammers, back in 2018/19, scored 19 times for Heerenveen before sealing an £8 million move to Serie A giants Atalanta. Sima, meanwhile, broke the 20-goal barrier for Slavia Prague in 2020/21, catching the eye of Arsenal and Manchester United before ending up at Brighton.
The fact that both players are now arriving in Scotland, then, is – with all due respect to the Scottish Premiership – a sign of how much damage their reputations have suffered.
The hope will be that Mick Beale can put Lammers and Sima back on the straight and narrow, like with Cantwell following his cut-price £2.5 million arrival from Norwich City in January. But, as Miller tells the Daily Record, the proof of the proverbial pudding will be in the eating.
Rangers sign Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima
“Like a few of the new arrivals, there’s an element of the unknown about (Sima). I’ve said before, Michael has earned supporters’ trust with his recruitment so far. So they have to roll with it,” Miller argues.
“But the first four Premiership fixtures will probably tell us everything we need to know. None of the boys Michael has signed have set foot in Scottish football before. So it’ll be sink or swim time. And they have to deal with it.”
There is no doubting the potential of both Lammers and Sima. Rediscover the form that earned them the admiration of some of Europe’s big hitters at Atalanta and Slavia Prague, and Rangers will have a strikeforce capable of turning a perennial one-horse race into something far closer to a genuine title fight.
“Beale has now signed two attacking players in Sima and Sam Lammers. How does anyone know if they’re going to score goals? We don’t, because there’s no real evidence to back it up,” Miller adds.
“When we re-signed Kris Boyd from Kilmarnock in my day, he was the all-time top Premiership scorer, so it was a no-brainer. You knew he’d get goals.
“Sima and Lammers have come off the back of poor seasons at relegated clubs. So you can’t say with any great belief that they’ll hit it off. There are question marks.”
Brighton, per the Record, opted against including a purchase clause in Sima’s contract when he joined Rangers on loan last week.
According to Miller, this suggests Sima may still have a future at the Amex.
“Sima hasn’t made his mark in the UK yet so it’s a signing with potential. And Brighton still hope that potential can be realised back at the parent club. That’s why they haven’t negotiated a deal for Rangers to eventually sign him permanently.”
