Philippe Clement: ‘There will be talks’ over permanent transfer for Rangers star Abdallah Sima
Philippe Clement has revealed he is planning to hold talks with Abdallah Sima over a permanent move to Rangers before the end of his loan deal at Ibrox.
The boss insisted Rangers would be the best place for Sima to grow and develop his skills both as a player and as a person, although he says it is too early to start any official talks at the moment.
Clement also shared that the club will be working on helping the winger to continue performing at his highest level with the “demanding” atmosphere at Ibrox which will make or break some players.
Speaking to the Daily Record [5 November], Clement revealed: “If he is continuing what he is doing now, I think this is also a good place for him to grow, as a player, as a person, in everything.
“It’s not about assessing that in the summer. There will be talks faster than that. But of course, it’s really early to be doing that now.
“The most important thing is that Abdallah is performing and that he feels really good in the club. That’s the first step so we can build on that.
“This is a demanding club so you love that or you have difficulty with that. 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.
“Abdallah has shown that in these weeks. 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.”
Sima has stepped up
In the early stages of the season, it seemed like Jack Butland would be the only one of Michael Beale’s summer signings to step up to the plate at Ibrox, but since then Sima has emerged as one of the most important players in this team under both bosses.
The appointment of Clement has taken his game to another level, with the style of play suiting his style as he likes to receive the ball in his stride and run in behind to get in positions to grab goals – and he has done, with seven from 14 SPFL games this season.
If Rangers can secure his signature on a permanent basis it will be a huge step forward for the club, retaining one of their best players this season and ensuring stability in that area both for the club and the player.
Clement is right, Ibrox could be the best place for Sima to continue his footballing development. Regular football, playing in Europe, pressure on your game forcing you to step up and the trust to go out and perform. If they can get a deal done, they have to do it.
In other Rangers news, John Bennett has sent a transfer budget message to Rangers fans.