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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Abdallah Sima's first words as a Rangers player after Brighton loan move

Abdallah Sima admits he's ready to make the next big step in his career at Rangers.

The striker has joined the Ibrox club on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. 

With a handful of caps for Senegal already to his name, the 22-year-old comes with a good pedigree and has enjoyed loan spells at Angers in Ligue 1 over the last couple of seasons.

He has previous experience of taking to the field at Ibrox having played against Rangers in the Europa League for former club Slavia Prague a few years ago.

And the pacey forward is excited to show the Rangers faithful what he can do in a Light Blues shirt.

“Rangers is a big club with a big history," he told the club's official TV channel. "I played here for Slavia Prague two or three years ago and when I came here I liked it so for me it is very exciting to join Rangers. 

“I spoke with Michael Beale and it was a very natural conversation, he told me about Rangers and about how we will be playing.

"I already knew a bit about how Rangers play so when they called me I was very honoured.

“I’ve learned a lot on loan at other clubs as a younger player. It helped me grow as a man. I had some excellent moments, but also some bad. It’s life. I’m ready.

“Rangers is the next big step. I’m excited to get going as the club has some really good, experienced players."

It's understood that there is no agreement in place between Rangers and Brighton to make the move a permanent fixture next summer.

Beale commented: “We are delighted to have Abdallah join us for the forthcoming season. He is a player I’m excited to work with, he has excellent variety in his game and can fulfil a number of attacking positions in our team. 

“He has recently turned 22-years-old and has experienced playing in three domestic top divisions, in the Europa League and is a senior international for Senegal. We met a few weeks ago and discussed at length his alignment to our style of play and his future development as a player. 

“He is someone I have followed closely since his breakthrough in the Czech Republic and I am extremely pleased to have Abdallah join the squad at the very start of pre-season.  

“I would also like to say thank you to the staff at Brighton who have been excellent since our initial contact a number of weeks ago.”

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