Brighton loanee Abdallah Sima has made no bones about his desire to stay at Rangers.
The Senegalese international forward, 22, found a home at Ibrox in the first half of this season, netting 15 goals before a devastating injury ruled him out of AFCON.
Having just worked his way back into the Senegal reckoning, it was certainly a blow for club and country.
But having just returned to the Rangers first-team squad, earning minutes late on in the 3-1 win over Hibs, Abdallah Sima wasn’t included on a list of players Roberto di Zerbi expects back next season.
That’s even if the Brighton manager has admitted that as things stand, there have been no talks with chairman Tony Bloom over this summer’s window.
Brighton manager gives summer transfer update
In quotes carried by the Athletic, Roberto di Zerbi was talking about the (lack of) influence on the team from Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati.
One of the world game’s brightest young talents, the 21-year-old Spain winger has struggled in the Premier League and finds himself out of the side.
With Brighton paying 80% of the winger’s extortionate £160k per week wages, it’s amounted to a £7m transfer which hasn’t paid off.
Coincidentally, that’s about as much – although it’s closer to £6m – that Brighton paid to sign Abdallah Sima from Slavia Prague in 2021.
And in some interesting comments from Di Zerbi, the Italian fails to mention Abdallah Sima when he refers to players who will be coming back into the Brighton team next season.
“I have not spoken with Tony (Bloom) yet and I don’t know about next season,” De Zerbi said.
“Deniz Undav will come back (from a season-long loan at Stuttgart) and I hope (Kaoru) Mitoma will be good (the Japan winger was ruled out in February for the rest of the season by a back injury).
“We’ve forgotten that Solly March was a crucial player for us and we have been playing without him from the 21st of October. At the moment we have not spoken about the future of the squad and the future of Ansu Fati as well.”
Where is Rangers’ interest in Abdallah Sima?
So what can we take from Roberto di Zerbi’s Brighton squad comments? Well, not too much, but enough to at least get Rangers fans talking.
Given the manager hasn’t mentioned Abdallah Sima, it suggests that the forward isn’t in the forefront of his thoughts and backs up assertions that the Senegalese frontman is within Rangers’ grasp.
How much it would cost to finance a deal remains unclear, but with Abdallah Sima entering the final year of his contract perhaps Brighton would be eager to break as close to even as possible.
The comments also suggest that Abdallah Sima will have increased competition should he return to Brighton next season, with the versatile forward capable of playing across the front line.
It’s certainly not bad news for Rangers, with manager Philippe Clement previously claiming discussions over a permanent move are in the pipeline.
What’s more, the player’s agent Bathie Toure has previously been clear the forward wants to stay at Ibrox.
“Abdallah Sima is good at Rangers and wants to continue there,” said Toure. “He likes the atmosphere at the club and wants to continue to evolve as a player.
“Abdallah is currently the most exciting young Senegalese player. He is a hard worker and has been looked after well in his career.
“At the moment, he is happy because he is playing every week at Rangers. He feels comfortable there and it is definitely his wish to stay. We will see what happens at the end of his loan.”
Abdallah Sima – who faced Rangers with Slavia Prague back in 2021 – joined the Gers on a season-long loan in the summer.
The forward has made 34 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and laying on two assists, with much debate surrounding s starting berth ahead of the weekend’s Old Firm derby.
Despite moving to Brighton in 2021, Abdallah Sima is yet to play a game for the club having spent loan stints out at Stoke City and Angers before moving to Ibrox.
