Glasgow Rangers may have benefited from the international break as it gave one of their best players extra time to heal from his injury.
Abdallah Sima, the hero of Ibrox, had a thigh injury in January while playing for his country, and it was announced that he would miss at least two months of action.
Philippe Clement may be able to use the outstanding Brighton & Hove Albion loanee following the break because the timetable was given two months ago.
Rangers once sold a center-forward for even more money than he is worth now, accounting for inflation in football transfer fees, but Sima has been in excellent goal-scoring form for the Gers this season and has seen his value soar during his time in Scotland.
Following an incredible 18 months of goal-scoring success in Scottish football, Nikica Jelavic was cashing in for the Light Blues, managed by Alex McCoist at the time, in January of 2012.
Premier League team Everton paid £5.9 million for the player at the time of the transfer, according to Totally Money, whose index currently values them at £15.7 million.
Jelavic, who cost Rangers £4 million when he was acquired from Rapid Vienna in 2010, was an immediate success in Glasgow, as evidenced by the table below, where he amassed an incredible goal scoring record in the Scottish Premiership.
During his 18 months at Ibrox, the Croatian striker amassed an impressive 36 goals and 15 assists in 56 club appearances across all competitions, prior to his lucrative transfer to Goodison Park.
This demonstrates that Rangers struck it lucky when signing Jelavic, who gave them excellent service for eighteen months and brought in a substantial amount of money in January 2012—a sum that would have increased in value in 2024 compared to Sima’s current market value.
The Senegal international’s current Transfermarkt value is €7 million (£6 million), although FootballTransfers estimates his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) to be slightly higher at €7.9 million (£6.8 million).
But even with Sima’s stellar performance for Rangers, neither of those estimates comes near to what Jelavic’s move to Everton would be worth currently.
The dynamic forward, who is on loan from Brighton, has contributed one goal every 2.75 games on average to the Gers’ 33 appearances across all competitions, with ten goals and two assists.
However, with his 51 direct goal contributions in 56 games, the Croatian international amassed an average of one goal or an assist per 1.10 games.
This demonstrates that Sima still has a ways to go before he can match Jelavic’s production in the closing third at Ibrox in terms of both success on the field and value off it.
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