Rangers' pursuit of signing Abdallah Sima on a permanent basis could well have received a welcomed boost.

The Senegalese frontman spent last season on loan at the Scottish Premiership side from Brighton.

He enjoyed a fruitful spell and was bitterly missed on the pitch by Philippe Clement when he suffered a serious injury while on international duty in January.

It is believed Rangers would like to have him back this summer but on a permanent basis.

His price tag has previously been set at around £8m. 

However, the Sussex Express states that this is set to decrease with the winger, 23, into the final 12 months of his contract at the Premier League outfit. 

The report does add that new head coach, Fabian Hurzeler, is still to assess Sima before any decision is made on his future by the Seagulls.

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Meanwhile, growing up an Aberdeen supporter, as Connor Barron has, means he doesn’t need to have a squizz at social media to gauge the reaction of the Pittodrie faithful to his move to Rangers.

He knows fine well that he will now be the lighting rod for the antipathy his old supporters have for the Ibrox club, particularly as fellow former Don, Ryan Jack, has now departed the scene.

If the thought of the fanbase he has been a part of all of his life turning their collective backs on him is bothering the 21-year-old, though, he is doing a bang-up job of hiding it.

Barron was unveiled as a Rangers player yesterday, and though he may now be a long way from his North-East origins, he looked right at home wearing the light blue jersey at his new club’s Auchenhowie training base.

Time will tell if he can make the step up look so effortless when he gets onto the pitch, but that is where he is channelling his energies, rather than worrying about what people are saying about him in his hometown.