Philippe Clement chases ‘perfect’ Oscar Cortes Rangers transfer in plan to replace Brighton loan star Abdallah Sima
Philippe Clement has identified Oscar Cortes as the “perfect” addition to his Rangers attack in the wake of injury to Abdallah Sima, according to the Daily Record.
The paper reported via their website late on 29 January that the young Lens winger has already travelled back to Europe to conclude a move and the Light Blues are “hopeful” to get the deal done before the deadline despite reports in Colombia suggesting it was already done.
The 20-year-old is available just months after making a £4million move to France from Millonarios, making only four Ligue 1 appearances off the bench, but Colombia’s top scorer at the South American Youth Championships last year has been picked by the Gers manager as the ideal reinforcements for his squad.
On-loan Brighton attacker Sima is out for up to three months with a thigh problem picked up without seeing a minute’s action for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, having scored 15 goals in all competitions so far this term.
Big shoes to fill
Sima has risen above the struggles of some of his fellow summer arrivals to establish himself as a star for Rangers this season, and it is easy to forget that he is still only 22 himself.
The Light Blues are also the fourth club he has played for in the past two and a half seasons, which doesn’t include the Seagulls who he has yet to feature for, so he has had nothing in terms of stability for a while.
So while Cortes may be young and unsettled to be on the move so soon after leaving his home country for France, there is precedent for having a big impact right in front of him.
Clement surely needs to have singled out the right man to fill Sima’s spot if he is going to have any chance of following up the Viaplay Cup victory with any further silverware this season.
Absent a proven goalscorer arriving before the 1 February deadline it is now down to Cyriel Dessers, who has had a rough start to life at Rangers but admittedly looks to be rising to the challenge of being the last man standing at striker, to fire the club to any more glory.
The likes of Ross McCausland and Fabio Silva are also talented youngsters but aren’t regular goal-getters, while Todd Cantwell and the like can chip in, but it feels like it will be down to Dessers and James Tavernier to put up the numbers required unless Cortes can arrive and follow Sima’s lead quickly.
In other Rangers news, a club has just got a lot “more money to spend” as they attempt to buy an Ibrox ace before the deadline.
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