PROFILE | Hamza Igamane turning the tide in Lille | OneFootball

Spare a thought for Hamza Igamane. Before the start of the summer transfer window, Lille OSC had earmarked the Moroccan international as their priority target to replace Jonathan David. He fitted their profile for a young and mobile striker, a player with a huge ceiling to develop and grow. 

In late June, reports emerged in France that the 23-year-old had agreed on personal terms with Les Dogues; all that was left was for Lille to find an agreement with Rangers, and they would have the player to lead their post-David world. The transfer would prove to be far from simple, with neither club budging on their position for months. 

It would take until the 29th of August for the transfer to be completed, and by that time, the season had already started, and Lille had another striker leading the line: Olivier Giroud. The deeply popular Frenchman, who had won standing ovations across the country and the adoration of the Lille fans, had started brilliantly scoring in his first two games. 

Igamane would make his debut off the bench against FC Lorient in the third game of the season, scoring a brace to lead his new side to a 7-1 rout. Despite his hot start, a hierarchy had been formed. Giroud was preferred to Igamane in the league, while the Moroccan would be given his chance to start games in the UEFA Europa League campaign. 

Genesio defends Igamane choice

While Giroud has struggled to find the back of the net consistently since his golden start, Igamane has had no such problem, having scored nine times across all competitions. A situation that has naturally led to questions over Bruno Génésio’s choice to stick with Giroud as his first-choice striker in the league. 

Génésio has defended his decision-making, saying, “We can also ask ourselves the question whether Hamza would have the same stats if he were a more regular starter? He deserves a lot of credit, but it’s also easier to come on when the opponent is tired. My choices are always for the benefit of the team.” 

However, there are signs that the situation is slowly shifting in Igamane’s favour, and he was chosen to start in the clash with Olympique de Marseille before picking up an injury that forced him off the pitch in the 26th minute. At the very least, Igamane has made it so his name has become very difficult to ignore. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland