Director of football recruitment Nils Koppen insists that Rangers did attempt to sign winger Abdallah Sima from Brighton last summer.
The 23-year-old caught the eye of the Ibrox support and Philippe Clement last season despite an injury-hampered spell in the Scottish Premiership. He returned to the Seagulls in search of a second chance in the English Premier League this summer – but has quickly dropped out of the picture before the start of the campaign under new boss Fabian Hurzeler and was moved on to Ligue 1 side Stade Brest.
But Koppen has revealed that the Light Blues made an attempt to bring back the Senegal international – with a similar package to the one that was put on the table to bring Oscar Cortes from Lens. The 20-year-old has signed a season-long loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the Scottish Premiership campaign, and the Ibrox chief told the Rangers Review: “The impression was that weren’t going to go back for Sima, but that’s not the case.
“We made an effort to bring Sima back to Glasgow permanently with a good offer, a higher fee than the one we agreed for Oscar Cortes. We tried to convince the player and the agent but the numbers were unrealistic so we pushed back on it.”
Speaking of Cortes, the injury-plagued winger is in the midst of another lengthy spell on the sidelines. But Koppen still expects the Colombian to impress in Govan. He went on: “Oscar came in with a blank injury record. No injuries, no scans, everything was perfect. We’re looking into it as a club.
“I’m still confident in the move to bring him here. We signed him on a five- year deal and still believe in his potential over a longer period.”
Before signing Robin Propper at centre-back, Rangers were keen to bring in Jose Cordoba. But the Panama international opted to leave Levski Sofia for Norwich City in a £3m deal.
On the transfer miss, Koppen added: “A lot of work had been done and we got to a point where everything was agreed. The player was here in Glasgow and attended a game but we didn’t really feel that passion to come and play for Rangers.”
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