Rangers clear key transfer hurdle to avoid repeat of Malik Tillman failure amid Abdallah Sima transfer talks with Brighton
Abdallah Sima’s apparent desire to stay at Rangers is a major step towards the club avoiding a repeat of the disappointment of Malik Tillman.
The 22-year-old Senegalese forward has emerged as arguably the most important player in Philippe Clement’s squad following his summer loan move from Brighton.
He is following in the footsteps of American Tillman who spent a positive year at Ibrox last term from Bayern Munich, but where the latter was believed to have little interest in remaining any further than that it appears to be very different already for the former.
Sima spoke at the pre-match press conference (13 December) ahead of the Europa League game against Betis and admitted, “I hope we’re going to find something for me” when talking about extending his time in Glasgow.
That won’t guarantee the Light Blues can keep hold of the man who has already scored 14 times in all competitions this season, with The 4th Official reporting on 8 December that talks have already been opened with Brighton over a permanent deal but the price is currently a stumbling block, it is a crucial box ticked in the bid to do so.
It goes without saying that signing a player with quality from a Premier League side is easier said than done when clubs in the top flight in England are operating on such a different financial plain.
It was the opposite situation last year with a permanent move for Tillman worth £5.8million thought to be in place by the start of the summer on the basis of a clause in his loan deal, except he didn’t want to make it.
Despite being positively disposed towards Rangers and then-boss Michael Beale the now-PSV Eindhoven loanee apparently had no interest in remaining in the SPFL.
Ultimately Bayern decided to cancel the agreed permanent move anyway and paid the Light Blues compensation as a result, so there was some consolation that the club couldn’t keep hold of the man who had scored 12 times and provided five assists.
That shows that Brighton hold the cards in their negotiations with Rangers on a future transfer of Sima, but more importantly it is he who has the final say as players can’t be forced to sign deals that they aren’t interested in.
The Gers had virtually no chance of holding onto Tillman even if the Bundesliga giants hadn’t decided that it would be more financially beneficial to bring him back since the 21-year-old wasn’t interested.
Perhaps the Clement-era Rangers won’t be able to get a deal over the line for Sima, who has already surpassed Tillman’s output, but they have apparently cleared a major hurdle on their way to doing so with the buy-in of the man himself.
There is a strong argument to say he is already the best player at Ibrox, allowing for the drop in form of Todd Cantwell and the ongoing vital but flawed importance of the likes of James Tavernier and Connor Goldson.
Jack Butland might be able to stake a claim to the crown but he and Sima are clearly the two major success stories from a hugely disappointing summer overhaul.
As with everything it is likely to come down to money now, but with David Weir the Amex technical director and Sima potentially able to influence proceedings slightly with his own perspective there has to be a lot more hope of keeping this effective attacking loanee than there was the last one.
In other Rangers news, Tavernier and Goldson were both said to be shocked by the behaviour of Beale during preseason.