Rangers could sign exciting Igamane rival with 13 goals in 19 games

Glasgow Rangers won’t take many positives from their weekend draw at Easter Road, especially considering the Ibrox side led 2-0 and 3-2 at stages during the game, yet they still managed to draw 3-3.

Defensive issues ensure the Light Blues won’t win the Premiership title this season, as Robin Propper and Dujon Sterling struggled against Hibs on Sunday afternoon, failing to deal with the opposition in the final third.

Despite the dropped points in Edinburgh, one player stood out among the underperformers for the Gers – Hamza Igamane.

The striker has been one of the stories of the season for the club. Eyebrows were raised last summer when Philippe Clement spent £1.7m on the youngster, who joined from AS FAR in Morocco.

Fast-forward seven months down the line and Igamane is showing up plenty of the established first-team players at the club.

Hamza Igamane’s season in numbers

The 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow nursing a small injury which meant he took a few weeks to eventually make it into the senior squad for a match. His debut came at Parkhead during the final stages of a 3-0 defeat. Talk about a baptism of fire for the striker, who hadn’t played football outside of Africa before.

It didn’t take him long to make his mark, especially in Europe. Across the four matches between October and December, Igamane not only started twice, but he scored four goals and grabbed one assist.

Alongside his goals, the centre-forward has averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.3 successful dribbles per game, as well as averaging 1.5 shots per game and this has seen his confidence skyrocket.

Over the festive period, if it was not for Igamane, Rangers would certainly have slipped further behind Celtic. That’s a certainty.

The Ibrox side were trailing 2-0 against Motherwell during their last game of 2024 before the striker netted twice to ensure a point was secured.

As mentioned, his three-goal salvo against Hibs over the weekend should have been enough for the club to gain all three points, but it wasn’t to be.

His displays recently have even attracted plenty of attention, as Igamane could perhaps be the next big thing to leave Ibrox for a major profit.

Indeed, Everton reportedly sent scouts to watch Rangers against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League just before Christmas and it surely won’t be long before a club submits an offer to test the Light Blues’ resolve.

Clement will be looking to add some more players to his squad between now and the end of the winter window. With defenders the obvious priority due to the injury issues plaguing the club, could the Belgian also make a move for a striker too?

One name has been linked, and he could be a dream rival for Igamane, no doubt about that.

Rangers could sign Igamane rival this month

Towards the end of 2024, South African publication SNL24 claimed that the Ibrox side were monitoring striker Iqraam Rayners ahead of making a potential move when the winter window opened.

“There has been an enquiry about Iqraam (Rayners) from Rangers of Scotland,” a source told SNL24. “I don’t think there has been an offer from them at this stage. What I know is they have shown interest and they continue monitoring him.”

Much will depend on what budget Clement has to play with this month and whether or not he may have to move on some deadwood in order to free up space in his squad.

Rayners is certainly a late bloomer, but if he did make the move to Glasgow, the 29-year-old could rival Igamane for the place in the starting XI, especially after a solid start to the season.

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Since moving to Mamelodi Sundowns last summer, the South African hitman has been on fire, scoring 13 goals across just 19 games in all competitions, which works out as a goal every 1.46 matches.

A strike rate like this wouldn’t go a miss at Ibrox, that’s for sure. The question is, could Rayners transfer the form he is showing in his homeland to Scotland should he secure his dream move this month?

His success throughout 2024 was praised by journalist Joshua Hendricks, who said: “Rayners has netted an impressive 23 goals across all competitions in 2024, outscoring every other top-flight player. This milestone marks his best scoring year yet, with 11 goals at Stellenbosch and 12 at Mamelodi Sundowns.”

Domestically, Rayners averages 1.7 shots per game, succeeds with 75% of his dribble attempts and has created one big chance. More importantly, perhaps, is his clinical nature in the opposition box.

Indeed, throughout the South African Premier Division season, Rayners has missed just one big chance, while his goal conversion rate currently stands at 40%, indicating how impressive he has been in front of goal this term.

At international level, the striker was also in fine form. Across ten games for South Africa during the calendar year, Rayners managed to find the back of the net on four occasions, including two in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations as South Africa went through the entire campaign undefeated.

Following Igamane’s success after making the move from Africa to Scotland in recent months, Clement will be hoping that Rayners could replicate this success should he secure a permanent move to Rangers.

If so, the Gers might just open up a new market which could see more players from Africa link up with the club shortly, going on to shine before leaving for a big profit.

The manager has both Igamane and Danilo to call upon, with the pair shining over the festive period, but Rayners would add some stiff competition.

The club need to make a signing sooner rather than later and diving back into the African market could see the Light Blues sign another gem.

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