Is £3m a Fair Price For Fashion Sakala?

The Glasgow Times have suggested that Saudi Pro League side Al-Fayha have submitted a fresh £3m bid for 26-year-old Fashion Sakala. It was thought last week that the Zambia international had turned down the move but with his exclusion from the Hoffenheim match and the fact he was missing from the open training session on Tuesday, suggests that Rangers may be keen to sell. The article stated this;

It’s said that Michael Beale and the club are open to letting the forward leave. The £3m fee would help to recoup the amount spent on the likes of Danilo, Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima this summer.

Speaking on Sakala after Saturday’s draw in Germany, Beale said: “There’s nothing on Fashion at the moment. There’s a bit of noise around a few of the players and that’s natural because of how many we’ve brought in. As soon as there’s something to say on that we will.”

Ewan Paton for The Glasgow Times

With the amount of quality added, is he good enough? Despite the fact the players brought in are better technically, would Rangers miss the numbers he provides? He’s a man that very much splits fan opinion.

Is £3m a Fair Price?

How much would you pay for a forward with these domestic numbers;

• 29 Appearances (22 Starts)
• 12G/7A
• 151mins Per Goal
• 74mins Per Goal Contribution
• 13% Goal Conversion Rate
• 51% Dribble Success (1.9 Per Game)

Obviously, these are Fashion Sakala’s stats from last season, apart from the conversion rate, they are incredible. If any of Rangers summer signings were coming through the door with these numbers, how excited would you have been? How much would Rangers pay for a 26-year-old international with these numbers?

If any of Rangers summer signings get close to these numbers, conversion rate excluded, I’d be delighted. The club have spent around £15m on new forwards this summer. Do you think any of them will get numbers like this? I do think they are capable and I have confidence that Lammers, Danilo and Dessers can all get 20+ goal contributions. That’s not a given though, whereas Rangers know what Fashion Sakala can provide.

Of course, he’s inconsistent, if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be anywhere near playing in Scotland. There’s a reason he was attainable for the club and he has his massive flaws. The main one being the inconsistency in his finishing. The main moments this season being twice against Celtic at Hampden, he missed two open goals that could’ve stopped Rangers going trophyless. These moments stick in the fans minds and rightly so, they shouldn’t be forgotten easily and that’s why he’ll never make it to the top.

It’s not enough that he ‘loves the club’ or ‘provides great numbers’ he also had to show up in the big moments. He didn’t do that last season, two of the biggest potential season changing moments, he failed.

That being said, we’re still talking about a 26-year-old international with high-level European experience. A forward who had 19 goal contributions in 29 appearances at a rate of a goal contribution every 74 minutes. Despite fan opinion on him, these numbers are excellent and something that other teams will notice.

Conclusion

I do think the club should sell Fashion Sakala, although I’d rather Rabbi Matondo went first. With the points made above, I do think Rangers could get closer to £4-5m for him. Then again, you can only sell players for what other clubs are willing to pay right? It’s the same scenario as fans demanding Matondo is sold first. You can only sell a player if other clubs want to buy them.

As much as I think the club could get £4-5m for him, do any other clubs value him at that price? Do Rangers want to hold out for more or will this be a ‘sell now’ type of deal?

How do you feel about this one? Do you think Rangers are undervaluing Fashion Sakala at £3m? Would you rather keep him than sell at that price or do you want him out ASAP? It will be very interesting to see how this one develops in the coming days.

ICYMI read yesterdays article on all the South American ex-Rangers strikers before Danilo’s official debut here.