The Light Blues hit the jackpot when they cashed in on the impressive forward
HIGHLIGHTS
- International break allows time for Sima to recover from injury, possibly back in action post-break for Rangers.
- Jelavic’s impressive transfer value in today’s money exceeds current value of Senegal star Sima.
- Sima’s performance stats show significant improvement needed to match Jelavic’s impact on and off the pitch.
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.
Given that the deadline was given two months ago, Philippe Clement might be allowed to use the talented Brighton & Hove Albion loanee during the break.
Sima has been in impressive goalscoring form for the Gers this season and has seen his value soar during his time in Scotland. Rangers once, however, sold a centre-forward for even more money than he is worth now when you adjust for inflation in football transfer fees.
How much Rangers sold Nikica Jelavic for in 2024 money
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 a hefty £5.9 million at the time of the transaction, according to Totally Money, with an index value of £15.7 million today.
In every season since 1992, Totally Money has acquired the top 100 most expensive transactions ever made in each of the top five European leagues. Equipped with an abundance of past financial records, they have computed the current value of former football players, accounting for the notable inflation rate.
In 2010, Rangers paid £4 million to acquire Jelavic from Rapid Vienna, and the forward, as you can see in the table below, hit the ground running in Glasgow with a fantastic goalscoring record in the Scottish Premiership.
| Premiership career | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nikica Jelavic | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
| Appearances | 23 | 22 |
| Minutes played | 1,900 | 1,799 |
| Goals | 16 | 14 |
| Assists | 7 | 5 |
| Stats via Transfermarkt | ||
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.
Abdallah Sima’s current market value
Transfer market currently has the Senegal international at a value of €7m (£6m), whilst Football Transfers have placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) slightly higher at €7.9m (£6.8m).
Neither of those valuations, however, are worth close to what Jelavic’s move to Everton would be worth if it had been made in the current day, despite Sima’s impressive form for Rangers.
| 23/24 Premiership | Abdallah Sima |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 20 |
| Starts | 15 |
| Goals | 10 |
| Big chances missed | 6 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Pass accuracy | 68% |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
On loan from Brighton, the versatile forward has produced ten goals and two assists in 33 appearances in all competitions for the Gers, which is a return of one goal contribution every 2.75 matches on average.
Whereas, the Croatia international plundered a goal or an assist every 1.10 games on average with his aforementioned 51 direct goal contributions in 56 games.
This shows that Sima still has a long way to go, in terms of his output level in the final third, to reach the same levels as Jelavic at Ibrox, both in terms of success on the pitch and value off of it.
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