Brighton beat Rangers to £7m striker and major January transfer to Arsenal moves closer

But had things worked out differently, Sima could have moved to Rangers permanently in 2021, instead of Brighton, according to Rangers' Eastern European scout Piotr Kasprzak.

Sima was on Brighton's and Rangers’ radar having impressed in the Czech top flight during his time with Slavia Prague.

It was the Seagulls however who made the decisive move and wrapped up a £7m deal for the Senegalese ace.

He swiftly spent an injury-hit loan at Stoke in the Championship and then went to Angers in France for a season. Sima – who has never yet played for Brighton – struggled to find his best form at both clubs but is now thriving on loan at Rangers with nine goals already this term.

“We remembered him from the times of Slavia Prague. He joined Slavia and was a sensation,” Kasprzak tells Goal. “But we simply couldn’t spend that much money on him at the time. He went to Brighton.

“Probably, if it weren’t for the fact that we had him in our database from his time at Slavia and he was stuck in our memory, we wouldn’t have gone for him in the summer, because his name wouldn’t mean much to us. And now he is one of our best players. This past work has come to fruition, albeit with a delayed start.”

Sima will have just one more year left on his Brighton contract once his loan at Rangers expires.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are preparing a January raid on Brentford for striker Ivan Toney. A report from TEAMtalk claims Toney has stated to Brentford he wants to leave in the coming window. The striker, who netted 20 goals last season, is currently suspended as he broke FA gambling rules. The £100m rated front runner is now back in training and will be fit to play in January. Chelsea are also rumoured to keen.