AFCON setback set to cause Rangers attacking headache for Philippe Clement
Rangers duo Cyriel Dessers and on-loan Abdallah Sima have been included in their respective nations’ 40-man squads for next month’s AFCON tournament in Ivory Coas, according to Daily Record (20 December).
These two absentees could prove troublesome for Philippe Clement as Rangers continue to play club football while the African competition gets underway in January but it may not stay this way.
Dessers could join up with the Nigeria squad with the potential to earn his fifth international cap, while Sima could join Senegal for the trip to the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 40-man squads need to be whittled down to 27 players by 3 January and, with 46-capped Leon Balogun not even humoured with a spot in the initial Nigeria squad, Dessers may not be given the chance to build on his four international caps.
A huge miss
It has been an average season for Dessers since signing for the club from Cremonese last summer. However, his form has picked up in recent games, scoring twice and assisting once in his last three appearances.
With Nigeria’s host of attacking talent on display, it is unlikely that the 29-year-old will travel out to Ivory Coast and will instead be stuck at Ibrox. It will not be the Nigerian that Clement is worrying about, though.
If Sima is called up to the tournament, he will be a massive miss for the Gers manager. The Brighton loanee arrived at the Scottish club in the summer and has since scored 14 goals in 29 appearances, topping Rangers’ goalscoring list.
The 22-year-old has been a sensation for Rangers, helping them to top Group C in the Europa League, as well as close the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to just five points.
Dessers’ dodgy form, alongside Kemar Roofe’s chances of injury, will be making Clement sweat every time the phone rings or his players step out onto the pitch. The goals could dry up if Sima is to leave until the end of January, which would be the worst-case scenario.
In other Rangers news, Chris Jack has named the “obvious” candidate to be included from Ibrox in a potential Lawrence Shankland swap deal.