Philippe Clement addresses Abdallah Sima’s Rangers transfer return in an honest Brighton price tag conclusion.

According to Philippe Clement, Rangers will not be able to re-sign Abdallah Sima until Brighton lowers their £7 million asking price.

The Light Blues fans, who will start the season watching their team at Hampden, hope to see the Senegalese ace return after his successful loan stay last season. He was on track to challenge for Scotland’s golden boot with 15 goals by January, but his campaign was thwarted by a catastrophic injury received during African Cup of Nations service. After returning following a three-month layoff, the 23-year-old only managed one more strike.

Clement and the player were eager to reestablish their partnership ahead of the new season. But Clement has now admitted that a move is improbable unless his Brighton employers reduce the transfer money required to release Sima from the last year of his Seagulls contract. He said, “I’ve contacted him, of course. He is like one of my sons. Abda adores the club. Abda like the way we played last season and his involvement in it.

“He adored his teammates and the staff. But, ultimately, Brighton is the owner, so it’s all about money. At the moment, it is impossible. But we’ll see what happens along the line because we’d love to get him back.”

Clement anticipates the return of South American combo Danilo and Oscar Cortes after lengthy injury absences, despite missing one of the top performances from last year. Striker Danilo returned to duty after a seven-month absence in Saturday’s friendly loss to Ajax, while Cortes played 30 minutes against Standard Liege earlier in the week.

And Clement replied, “I’m really pleased to have them back. Availability fluctuated during the season. We lost Abda and Oscar at the same time, which had a significant impact on how we played.

“Losing Dani was the same. He was gone for so long. The goal now is to bring them back in a positive way. It can’t be that they are so anxious to play that you’re killing them right now.

“It takes a lot of discussions with the medical staff and the performance team to figure out what to do with them, how to train them, what exercises they can do, how many games they can play, and then construct the tale.

“But it takes a while. You can’t just give them a drink and expect them to be fully functional the next day. It does not operate that way. These are the things that fans have no awareness of. I understand. But we have some job to do, which is wonderful; otherwise, it would be boring.”

Clement was harshly critical of the club’s medical department last year, as Gers’ never-ending injury issues left the Belgian manager with his hands tied at vital points in the season. However, he is optimistic that there would be no repeat of same concerns this year, stating, “We had to increase the levels there and do things better.

“It’s not just that we suffered a lot of injuries as a result of this. There were several items. It is not necessary to point to one individual, two people, or whatever.

“It is about a variety of factors, including rising levels and quality in order to achieve a higher total and attract better players. I’m convinced that the modifications will make things better.”

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