When Rangers signed Hamza Igamane from Moroccan football in the summer, even the most optimistic of Ibrox match goers could not have imagined the impact he would make.
Philippe Clement was keen to play down expectations around Igamane from the get-go.
Hence why the £1.7 million acquisition would start only two of Rangers’ first 11 Scottish Premiership games of 2024/25.
But after Hamza Igamane racked up eye-catching cameo after eye-catching cameo, earning himself a belated run of games as Clement’s first-choice number nine, it’s fair to say the former RAF Rabat hitman has not looked back.
Igamane hit his ninth goal in 12 Premiership starts as Rangers swatted Aberdeen aside on Wednesday night.
Clement had initially planned to use the broad-shouldered 22-year-old as something of a bit-part option this term, giving him the odd minute here and there before the time came for him to pick up the baton from the vastly-more experienced Cyriel Dessers.
The speed of Igamane’s ascent, however, has not only pushed Dessers out of Clement’s XI, it may also have hastened the Nigerian’s exit from Ibrox.
Philippe Clement highlight Cyriel Dessers role in Hamza Igamane’s red-hot Rangers form
This week, Dessers admitted that he plans to hold talks with the Rangers bosses after slipping from first-choice to third. Yet, while his game time has dried up dramatically, the £5 million signing from Italian outfit Cremonese has remained as professional as ever behind the scenes.
Kris Boyd was right, it seems, when he said that Dessers is not the sort of striker to ‘throw his toys out the pram’. The suddenly seldom-seen 30-year-old offered a timely reminder of his own talents as he joined Igamane on the scoresheet against Aberdeen, rounding off a dominant performance with a fine solo effort in the dying embers of stoppage time.
Dessers could make his first start of 2025 when Rangers host fifth-tier Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup fourth round this weekend.
And Clement, while refusing to confirm if the one-time Eredivisie Golden Boot winner would remain in Glasgow beyond January, has nothing but praise for the way Dessers has helped aid Igamane’s development on the training pitch.
“I spoke with Cyriel about why he played less than before, yes,” Clement tells reporters during his Friday press conference. “And that’s because of the evolution of Hamza also. So, we will see what happens.
“Cyriel is working really hard. He’s doing everything. He’s good in the group. He’s a very good lad. He’s thinking very collectively always.
“He’s in support of Hamza. He gave Hamza a lot of tips last couple of months also in the training [sessions[ and around games.
“Now in the last game, the way he came on, you don’t see a player who’s disappointed that he’s not starting, although he started a lot of games before and scored also a lot of goals.
“He’s somebody who’s there for the team.”
Rangers may not stand in Dessers’ way amid Serie A and La Liga interest
Rangers reportedly opened preliminary talks about selling Cyriel Dessers last week.
Cagliari are prioritising a deal to bring him back to Serie A, though there is also alleged interest from Spain and France in the shape of Leganes and St Etienne.
Clement also confirms that Dessers has been given permission to discuss his future with interested parties, even as CEO Patrick Stewart insists that selling is not the priority this month.
“Is there a moment that he wants to play all the games? Then, [if that is the case] he needs to make a decision,” the former Monaco boss adds. “If it’s not the case, he’s in competition with others.
“That’s freeing him to talk.”
