Former £10M Rangers man lighting up new league | OneFootball

It’s safe to say most Rangers players who move on tend to sink after Ibrox. Joe Aribo, Nathan Patterson and many others just didn’t shine away from Govan.

Some who did though certainly include (eventually) Calvin Bassey, and now there’s another big addition to that more impressive alumni.

Hamza Igamane left Rangers because of ambition. He wasn’t keen on Scottish football, and knew he was better than it. He was confident, and wanted a big league. It had nothing to do with Russell Martin.

He liked Rangers and the fans.

And there was potential there. Raw talent for sure.

Lille got their man this summer and he got his move.

And how has he done?

The answer is very well indeed. Igamane will be at the world cup with Morocco, and his stats for club and country tell their own story.

3 goals and assists in 7 for his nation, 8 in 17 for club.

A 23-year-old who only left his country 18 months ago for the first time and has shone in France.

It helps that he naturally speaks French as a Moroccan, and that helped him settle, but it’s still a new club and a new country.

And that’s not held him back at all.

Rangers in the end did good scouting him – that’s a Koppen and Clement piece of work, and we did great getting £11M for him.

Just a damn pity we wasted every penny on it on Youssef Chermiti via Kevin Thelwell who seems determined to destroy the club from the inside.

But Hamza has done well, and while many Rangers fans can’t stand him, we don’t exactly share that.

In a choice between moving to Lille in one piece, or coming on and playing for Russell Martin, sorry, but we’d be on that plane as well.