As Rangers enter into negotiations with RC Lens winger Oscar Cortes, you’ll forgive some fans for asking what any deal means for crocked attacker Abdallah Sima.
Reports had initially suggested Rangers have agreed a deal for the Colombian attacker, 21, who has struggled to settle in France since his £3.8m move from Millonarios in the summer.
However the latest has pulled the brakes on those claims somewhat and, whilst Rangers do appear to be interested, a deal to bring Oscar Cortes to Ibrox isn’t quite signed, sealed, and delivered just yet.
But as fans get YouTubing and excitement builds in Philippe Clement’s first transfer window, what does the Oscar Cortes move mean for Abdallah Sima?
Abdallah Sima’s Ibrox future unknown amid injury
Senegal forward Abdallah Sima was sent home early from AFCON with a troublesome injury now set to keep the Brighton loanee out for up to three months.
It comes as a sizeable blow to Rangers’ chances, with Abda netting 15 goals in the first half of the season and emerging as a key player in the squad.
Throw into that the fact Rangers are clear they want to sign the £7m Brighton attacker permanently – and Sima’s agent claiming the feeling is mutual – and suddenly the issue goes beyond just this campaign.
Sima’s situation is yet to be confirmed by Philippe Clement, who claims that discussions between Rangers and Brighton regarding where the forward should rehab were ongoing.
As things stand, Sima remains at Ibrox and let’s hope he can get back and contribute before the end of the season with his Rangers future very much up in the air as things stand.
Oscar Cortes closes in on Rangers switch
As Rangers close in on Oscar Cortes, there are a couple of things that make the transfer interesting in the context of Abdallah Sima.
Firstly, Cortes is obviously well-placed to come in and replace the goalscoring influence of Sima, who will be sorely missed in the next period of the season.
But secondly, whilst Cortes can play across the front three, the Colombian youth international has been mostly employed off the right, the opposite side of the pitch from Sima.
This suggests to us that there’s an element of cover in the transfer most certainly, but that perhaps the position was likely to be strengthened in the summer regardless of what happens with Sima.
This is something highlighted by the fact Rangers are only reportedly set to sign a loan with option to buy deal for the winger.
Perhaps the Abdallah Sima injury just sped things along for Rangers, and for us, the fact Oscar Cortes could be about to join Big Phil’s Rangers revolution will do little to impact Abdallah Sima’s long-term future at the club.
