Rangers are set to open negotiations to sign £7m Premier League attacker
Rangers manager Philippe Clement claims transfer talks are planned over the permanent signing of Brighton loanee Abdallah Sima.
The Senegalese international forward, 22, has impressed since moving on loan to Ibrox in the summer, scoring his 10th and 11th goals of the season in the weekend win over St Mirren.
This comes after the forward was awarded the October Scottish Premiership Player of the Month.
It’s that decisive striker play that has Philippe Clement very interested in Abdallah Sima and whilst the Brighton loan move is until next summer, Rangers are planning talks earlier.
Philippe Clement wants to sign Abdallah Sima
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Hearts, Philippe Clement has praised the form of Abdallah Sima.
More than that, the Belgian manager has also claimed that Rangers is a very good place for the player to grow and that a switch to Ibrox is beneficial for everyone.
Emerging as a key player in the Rangers squad, Clement has confirmed that the club are set to open talks with Brighton regarding a deal.
“It’s not about assessing that in the summer, there will be talks faster than that,” claims Clement.
“But of course it’s really early to be doing that now. The most important thing is that Abdallah is that performing and that he feels really good in the club. That’s the first step so we can build on that.
“If he is continuing what he is is doing now I think this is also a good place for him to grow, as a player, as a person, in everything.”
Rangers mentality praised
Whilst there’s no doubt about Abdallah Sima’s qualities, Philippe Clement has also been praising his winning mentality.
At a club like Rangers you need to have a big personality and the former AS Monaco manager believes Abdallah Sima is part of the good feeling he’s trying to build in Glasgow.
“It’s a demanding club so you love that or you have difficulty with that,” said Clement.
“You need a big personality to be strong with that in the moments when people are not happy about things. Then you need to fight through. And Abdallah has showed that in these weeks.
“It’s not be the whole time that he’s getting praise. But he also fights through and that’s also one of the things we need to look really hard into in the assessment of players.
“It’s not just the physical, tactical and technical qualities – there’s personality too, the ability to be strong in the environment of a winning club.
“That’s also the winning culture I want to create here. People who will come through even in the difficult moments.
“I want that also from the fans, that they push the players through even in the difficult moments, pushing in a positive ways, feeling confident that if they give energy, the players will do it. So that’s what we need to create.”
Is Sima move realistic for Gers?
Whilst it’s clear that Abdallah Sima has a big fan in Rangers manager Philippe Clement, whether Brighton will be willing to play ball or not is another story.
The megabucks Premier League is a financial arena in which Rangers cannot operate and Brighton are amongst its most clever negotiators.
Having banked hundreds of millions on player sales to the biggest teams in the division, you can bet your bottom dollar they hoped to bank a profit on Abdallah Sima when they signed him too.
That would suggest that Rangers need to cough up as a minimum the £7m Brighton paid for the attacker, even if he’ll be heading into the final year of his deal next season.
Perhaps a suitable buyback clause could be inserted into the deal, meaning Brighton can snare the striker back for a cut-price should he explode at Rangers.
But one thing is certain, if Rangers and Philippe Clement are serious about Abdallah Sima, then there is still plenty of negotiating to be done.
For those wondering, the comments of Clement also explain Abdallah Sima’s celebrations against the Saints.
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