By Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

27th Oct, 2023 | 7:00am

Sources: Major update on Rangers bid to sign Abdallah Sima permanently

Rangers do not have the option to buy on-loan Brighton star Abdallah Sima at the end of his Ibrox spell, sources have told Football Insider.

The Seagulls sent Sima, 22, to the Glasgow giants in a bid to get him more first-team football.

He has impressed the opening months of the 2023-24 campaign in one of the bright spots of an otherwise dismal season.

But Rangers will need to open talks with Premier League high-fliers Brighton to find out their valuation of Sima if they are to press ahead with a permanent swoop.

The Seagulls have a history of getting top-dollar for their best performers and raked in a British-record £115million when Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea in the summer.

Sima has not been a regular starter for Rangers in all competitions this season but has nonetheless managed nine goals across 16 total appearances.

He has, however, managed four goals in his last three Scottish Premiership starts.

That includes a brace as Rangers ran out 4-0 winners against Hibernian on Saturday (21 October) – Philippe Clement’s first game in charge at Ibrox.

His form has earned him a recall to the Senegal senior squad for the first time since September 2021.

Sima could miss as many as six games in the new year if he is included in Aliou Cisse’s squad for the African Cup of Nations.

He signed for Brighton from Slavia Prague in 2021 and is under contract at the Amex Stadium until June 2025.

In other news, Clement plotting to lure stars to Rangers in January.