Rangers fans maybe thought that Ibrox Hall of Famer David Weir was going to do them a favour with Brighton attacker Abdallah Sima.
The former Gers defender is the Premier League outfit’s Technical Director and will have an open dialogue with the transfer team at Ibrox.
But as Abdallah Sima is officially announced at Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois 29, Rangers fans are left picking up the pieces as yet another high-profile target moves elsewhere.
Now, David Weir has been reacting to the transfer with the Brighton director explaining why the Premier League club allowed Brest, and not Rangers, to take the 23-year-old on loan.
Abdallah Sima joins Stade Brestois 29 on loan
After a summer of speculation linking Abdallah Sima with Rangers, the Senegalese forward has been officially announced at Brest.
The deal will see Sima, who spent last season on loan at Ibrox, join the Ligue 1 club on a year-long loan from Brighton.
Whilst reports had suggested that an option-to-buy would be included in the deal, there has been no official confirmation of this from either Brest or Brighton.
Brighton have also released a statement following the announcement of the transfer with Rangers legend David Weir explaining the switch to the Seagulls support.
With no mention of an option-to-buy, it very much appears Brighton preferred to send Sima on loan to Brest due to their participation in the Champions League this season
With Ligue 1 also an objectively higher level than the Scottish Premiership, the deal is in the best interests of the Premier League outfit as they look to develop the attacker.
In an official Brighton statement, David Weir said:
“Abdallah had a successful period with Rangers last season and this loan will give him the opportunity to get regular minutes in a good league at a club who finished third in France last season and will be playing in the Champions League this season.
“We wish him well and Pathway Development Manager Gordon Greer and his team will monitor his progress.”
The comments suggest that Brighton see big potential in Abdallah Sima despite signing a number of expensive attackers this summer.
Rangers count cost of Champions League failure
Rangers are very much counting the cost of a failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Heading into the qualifiers this summer, Philippe Clement described Abdallah Sima as being ‘like a son’ but admitted Rangers were in no financial position to sign the forward.
Claiming that things might change later in the window, it’s no surprise that Sima’s transfer to Brest has accelerated in the wake of Rangers’ Champions League collapse.
Whilst Sima himself admitted he’d love to return to Rangers, Brighton have looked after themselves by allowing the player to test himself at Champions League level.
Rangers fans are still licking their wounds in the wake of the club’s Champions League exit and it’s hard to blame them.
But the show must go on and Rangers remain on the hunt for reinforcements in the left-wing position that Abdallah Sima occupied last season.
Rangers have been linked with moves for both Croatian international Josip Brekalo and Portuguese winger Tiago Gouveia in recent days.
