Neil Murray can see why Michael Beale wants to bring in Abdallah Sima because he brings something different to his Rangers team.
The Ibrox boss had been keen to shy away from loans but is ready to make an exception by bringing in the Senegal international from Brighton Hove Albion. Beale has already started to rebuild his squad and frontline options remain the priority. Dutch striker Sam Lammers is already in the bag, while a move for Cremonese striker Cyriel Dessers hangs in the balance over price. Beale is now looking at Sima and former Rangers star Murray - who now works for InfoStat - took a deep dive into the transfer targets data and what Rangers fans can expect if he arrives at Ibrox.
Murray admitted that it shows that Sima’s main strengths from his loan at Ligue 1 strugglers Angers are his ability to run and dribble to get up the park. He would also give Rangers a flexibility as he can play as a winger or through the middle. Murray explained: “Successful dribbles in the attacking areas of the pitch, Simba is second in the entire Ligue 1. The only one who is above him on that front is Terem Moffi of Lorient.
“You can take that one step further and look at successful dribbles in the final third, he is in the top five. Kyllian Mbappe and Lionel Messi were first and second while Sima was third
"Successful dribbles, in terms of all over the pitch, he is third. So it is clear that although he plays as a striker his main strength is dribbling with the ball. He likes to run at pace with the ball and so he would probably offer something a bit different to what this current Rangers squad has.”
Antonio Colak offers a focal point and a physical strength, while Fashion Sakala goes for raw pace and new boy Sam Lammers is one that Beale is considering playing in behind as a No. 10. So he could then employ Sima centrally or wide.
Murray added: “Rangers may well be looking at Sima as the type of player who can be important for the group, as he can play in a variety of positions and can also play upfront on his own.
“If you look at his heat map for Angers, he plays primarily as a central striker but he also does a lot of good work out wide. When you look at his stats he also puts in his fair share of crosses and creates chances for others. He was ranked 9th in Ligue One. So the stats show he is more of a creator than an out and out goalscorer.
“Another strength from the stats is that he is quite economical with the ball. He doesn’t give it away much and manages to keep possession which is always a big strength the higher you go in the game. Sima is also quite strong in the air and has a decent return when it comes to aerial duels, which is another asset.”
Sima’s goal record was six last season but Murray points out that it was for a team who were on a hiding to nothing and were always going to struggle amongst France’s elite. They finished bottom and it was a bit of a thankless task at times. Murray is also no stranger to French football.
He also had a spell at Lorient in his career and knows how big a challenge it is to mix it with the French heavyweights like Paris St-Germain, Monaco and Lyon. He added: “He got five goals for Angers in the league and six overall, which isn’t exactly great but what you would say is that he would have been playing for a side that was hardly prolific.
“They only scored 33 goals in the league and let in 81 so that tells you a lot of what you need to know. It looks like he has had to lead the line himself and try to get his team up the park.
“So as a result, most of his work is being down outside the box and he isn’t getting as many chances as a centre forward might expect. If you look at his stats he was getting under two chances a game to score, so he was on some pretty slim pickings.”
Sima’s one season where he did score goals was when he was on-loan at Slavia Prague. He netted 16 and had an average of about a goal every two games. Murray thinks that is more the sort of figures he could hit at Rangers, playing in a team that is on the front foot, being creative and scoring goals.
Murray asked: “You also have to look at it, how will he fit into the Rangers team? The chances are he will be doing more attacking and as so will get more chances to score. “People might look at his general stats and say he is not a goalscorer. “Yet, the season he was on-loan at Slavia Prague he got 16 goals. “So you would expect that Sima playing in the right team and right formation could well score a lot of goals. “That is what Michael Beale will be hoping for if the deal goes through.”
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