Rangers clear key transfer hurdle to avoid repeat of Malik Tillman failure amid Abdallah Sima transfer talks with Brighton
The team is making significant progress toward preventing a replay of Malik Tillman’s disappointment with Abdallah Sima‘s apparent willingness to remain at Rangers.
After joining on loan from Brighton in the summer, the 22-year-old Senegalese forward has become possibly the most vital member of Philippe Clement’s team.
He is following in the footsteps of Tillman, an American who played for Bayern Munich and had a successful season at Ibrox last season. However, whilst the latter was thought to have little interest in staying on for much longer, things immediately seem very different for the former.
Prior to the Europa League match against Betis on December 13, Sima addressed the media at the pre-match. When asked about staying longer in Glasgow, he said, “I hope we’re going to find something for me.”
That won’t ensure the Light Blues can hold onto the player, who has already scored 14 goals this season across all competitions. On December 8, The 4th Official reported that talks about a permanent deal had already begun with Brighton, but the price is currently proving to be a roadblock despite being a necessary checkbox 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
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.
Though Jack Butland may be able to lay claim to the title, Sima and he stand out as the two biggest beneficiaries of a rather dismal summer makeover.
Like everything else, this loan will probably come down to money in the end, but with Amex technical director David Weir and Sima maybe having some influence through his own viewpoint, there should be far more chance for keeping this offensively proficient loanee than there was with the previous one.
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