Rangers are set to snap up Brighton and Hove Albion’s Abdallah Sima – just a couple of years since he dazzled against the Gers.
Michael Beale is desperate to add attacking quality to his squad, even after landing Sam Lammers from Atalanta earlier in June.
Sima has become the top target in recent days and a deal appears to be very close.
The Brighton talent underwent a medical with Rangers on Wednesday and confirmation of his arrival shouldn’t be too far away.
Sima will be penning a season-long loan deal at Ibrox with a permanent option unlikely to be included.
Sima joined the last two seasons out on loan, first joining Stoke City before then moving on to Angers last term.
The 22-year-old clearly has potential but has yet to really put it all together since leaving Slavia Prague in 2021.
Sima looked like a future star at Slavia and it may be one performance during his time there which put him on Beale’s radar…
Abdallah Sima once caused problems for Rangers
Sima lined up for Slavia in two legs against Rangers during the 2020-21 Europa League.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Rangers were beaten 2-0 by Slavia in the second leg at Ibrox.
Sima played a prominent role in the Slavia attack and he certainly caused problems for Leon Balogun in the Rangers defence.
Sima’s pace was a real problem and whilst Peter Olayinka and Nicolae Stanciu scored the goals, it was Sima who was hailed.
Sky Sports named Sima as the Man of the Match on that night at Ibrox, stating that he ‘ran the show’ against Rangers.
They added that Sima was a ‘constant threat’ whilst branding him an ‘exciting’ talent having shown off his potential in Glasgow.
Here is the snippet from Sky Sports as they heaped praise on Sima…
The forward helped knock Leicester City out in the previous round by scoring his side’s second goal at the King Power that night and while he was not on target at Ibrox, he still ran the show.
According to some reports, Slavia have turned down some large sums from some of Europe’s biggest clubs for the Senegalese and judging by his impressive display in Glasgow, you can understand why.
The forward, 19, was a constant threat to the Rangers defence all night long and was particularly unlucky not to earn the visitors a penalty in first-half stoppage time after one of his customary solo dribbles.
Not that it really mattered come full time and whoever draws the Czechs in the last eight will need to keep a close eye on this exciting youngster.
Michael Beale was in the Rangers dugout on that night as an assistant to Steven Gerrard, so he saw Sima’s quality first-hand.
The last couple of years have been tricky for Sima but if Beale can get him back to his 2021 level of his performance, Rangers could have a real danger man on their hands.
