SHOCKING NEWS; Philippe Clement confirmed the suspension of two key players few minutes ago..

Abdallah Sima was told in no uncertain terms what the future holds for him at Brighton after being excluded from their opening-day win at Everton.

 

The Seagulls got their Premier League campaign off to a flyer on Saturday as they ran out emphatic 3-0 winners at Goodison Park. It was a dream start for new boss Fabian Hurzeler, who replaced Roberto de Zerbi in the hotseat at the end of last season. Cash-rich Albion have bucked the trend in what has been a slow transfer market this summer by splashing out more than £100million for the first time in their history on new players, with £40m Leeds forward Georginio Rutter becoming their seven addition.

 

The East Sussex outfit aren’t done there, either, and are locked in talks with Celtic over a £25m-plus deal for in-demand Matt O’Riley. That deal could hinge on whether Scotland playmaker Billy Gilmour joins Italian giants Napoli in a reported £12m switch.

But the club-record £40m capture of France Under-21 international Rutter does no favours for Sima as the Senegalese attacker falls further down the pecking order at the Amex, with the likes of Yankuba Minteh, Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson and Kaoru Mitoma just some of the names already ahead of him.

A £7m signing from Slavia Prague in 2021, Sima has yet to play a single competitive game for Brighton having spent time out on loan with Stoke City, Angers and Rangers. He enjoyed arguably the best spell of his career at Ibrox last season, scoring 16 goals across an injury-disrupted campaign. Philippe Clement made it clear earlier this summer that he’d love to welcome the 23-year-old back to Glasgow, but Gers would have to offload more players to finance a loan deal.

Sima is in the final year of his contract with Brighton and could be available for a knock-down price, but aside from a couple of unsubstantiated reports linking him with France, has yet to attract serious interest. That could change as we approach the final week of the window but if Sima had it his way, it seems the journeyman winger would jump at the chance to return to Glasgow.