The name of Abdallah Sima will be familiar to Rangers supporters. It is one that could soon be on the lips of many around Ibrox.
Few will wish to recall the Europa League defeat to Slavia Prague two years ago with any willingness, but the matches provide an insight into what Michael Beale will get for his investment if Sima completes a loan move from Brighton and Hove Albion in the coming days.
That tie will be remembered for the disgraceful abuse that Glen Kamara suffered as Steven Gerrard's side excited the competition. The performances from Sima clearly left an impression on Beale, however.
Sima has been spoken about in effusive terms for the majority of his professional career. At every stage, the hyperbole has been earned and then backed up as Sima has established himself as an emerging talent that has a profile to suggest he will continue his rise and rise in the game.
The clubs where the forward started out on his journey are not exactly the most renowned, yet the faith shown in Sima by each was repaid. The Senegalese was still playing for a local team at the age of 17 but a move to French side Thonon Evian, who spotted him in the academy of amateur outfit FC Medina, changed his life personally and professionally.
Unusually, the game would take him to the Czech Republic. Agent Daniel Chrysostome had identified that market as a potentially lucrative one for African talent and another of his clients, Guinean midfielder Cheick Conde, had previously earned a move to Fastav Zlin from the same Taborsko base that Sima was moved into.
Sima would also get his crack at the Czech First League. A solo goal, as he ran the length of the pitch in a meeting with Viktoria Zizkov, naturally caught the attention of the watching scouts and Jindrich Trpisovsky, the Slavia Prague manager, was so impressed with Sima during a pre-season fixture that he sanctioned a deal without a second thought.
Trpisovsky later described Sima's potential as 'unreal' and tipped him to 'skyrocket'. During a loan spell at Stoke City last season, manager Michael O'Neill pinpointed Sima's enthusiasm to play and learn and his mobility, physicality and eye for goal.
The Covid pandemic came at just the wrong time for Sima. He was a teenager in a foreign country, unable to play the game that had brought him so far but left him still some distance from the levels he had seemed destined to reach.
His grasp of English steadily improved. His fitness would increase at an even greater rate and a running programme that saw him cover 150 miles in a fortnight was testament to his mindset as well as his athleticism.
When his chance came, he took it. His first Europa League goal came in a win over Nice in November 2020.
Come the end of February, he had netted 15 times in all competitions as Slavia overcame Leicester City to set up their meeting with Rangers.
A couple of months later, Sima was on the move again. The signings of Marc Cucurella and Enock Mwepu were made with more immediate returns in mind but Brighton boss Graham Potter knew he was buying into a project when Sima was recruited for around £7milllion.
That loan spell at Stoke only yielded a handful of appearances as injuries curtailed his progress. A return of six goals and two assists from 37 appearances for Angers last season was more indicative of Sima's prowess and the attraction for Rangers is clear.
The Senegalese international has mainly operated from the right in recent terms. He can, though, play across the front three and his presence would add to the pace and power that Beale has recruited into his squad so far this summer as Rangers are rebuilt and reshaped.
Sima is gifted but still raw. He was signed as a project player by Potter and his successor, Roberto De Zerbi feels another campaign away from the Amex Stadium would be advantageous. It is Rangers that now stand to benefit as well as Sima himself.
It is a move, then, that stacks up for all concerned. Plenty has been said and written about his career trajectory but a move to Ibrox will allow his game to do the talking at a time when the Ibrox crowd need something to shout about.
