Kris Boyd admits he was wrong to doubt Rangers star, not surprised about Ibrox exit links
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As far as former Scotland international James McFadden is concerned, Philippe Clement could not have managed one Rangers star any better this season.
While his flying form has some supporters questioning why he was not introduced to the Rangers’ XI sooner, McFadden believes that the steps Clement took to help ease Hamza Igamane’s adaptation to life in Scottish football a major reason why the in-form centre-forward is suddenly taking the Premiership by storm.
Clement was always wary of throwing the £1.7 million summer signing in at the deep end before he had learned to swim in the choppy waters of Glasgow.
Igamane was left out of the matchday squad for Rangers’ first three Premiership matches of 2024/25. He started only one of the first eight.
But with Clement keen to avoid putting extra pressure on a young striker who was plying his trade in Morocco only a few months previously, giving Igamane the time and the space to get used to life in a new league and a new country, even his biggest detractors would have to accept that the Rangers boss deserves immense credit for Igamane’s belated brilliance.
Kris Boyd, the legendary Rangers frontman, largely agrees with McFadden’s assessment.
And while he accepts that Rangers might have found themselves in a stronger position had Igamane started the season as the club’s first-choice centre-forward, he also points out that a slow start, and some early criticism, might have done serious damage to the 22-year-old’s reputation.
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Kris Boyd says Philippe Clement was spot on with Hamza Igamane at Rangers
“It’s difficult [to say] if Igamane had played from the start of the season Rangers would have been in a much better position,” Boyd muses. “[But] if everybody can see ‘we’ve spent over £1 million here and it’s not working’, it could have set him back.
“It’s bad enough moving to a new country and everything else that comes with that. It could have set him back. Slowly but surely bringing him into the team [was the right decision by Clement].
“Because of what he came in for, in terms of the money for a project player, its maybe difficult to put him in that team and say, ‘OK, you are going to learn your trade by playing games’, because you are under pressure at Rangers.
“All you can speak about is, since he’s came in, he’s made a difference.”
He certainly has. A pretty colossal one too.
With Cyriel Dessers as inconsistent as ever, and Danilo suffering with injuries again, Igamane seized the chance with both hands when he was finally given a run of games in late-2024.
Igamane hit a stunning hat-trick as Rangers drew with Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday, taking his tally to seven from nine Premiership starts.
Given his age, and his lack of experience in senior football, Igamane is still a footballer learning on the job. Boyd has seen big improvements with regards to his positioning in the penalty area, all three of his strikes against Hibs very much typical centre-forward finishes.
Rangers legend sees big Igamane improvements and discusses Everton links
“I look at Rangers and Celtic number nines and, because of what you’ve got elsewhere, you don’t really want them drifting away here, there and everywhere,” Boyd says, Igamane tending to drop into midfield and out wide during his early appearances in Glasgow.
“That was one of the reasons why I was like; ‘I’m not really sure if he can be the number nine because you need a focal point’. But [against Hibernian], every time the ball went wide, he was there. That’s what you need from your nine.
“When you’ve got someone like [Nedim] Bajrami, he is going to drift into an area. The two wide players, [Vaclav] Cerny and [Ianis] Hagi, Hagi is going to drift.
“You need to have a focal point at the top end of the pitch. You need to know where they are. That’s why I was thinking; ‘I’m not too sure if it’s going to work’.
“But in the last few performances, especially in Europe…”
RangersNews have been told that Igamane is attracting interest from England already. Everton have been scouting Rangers’ number 29.
And while that has raised eyebrows on Merseyside – Igamane still has a long way to go before he can be considered the ‘real deal’ – Boyd is not surprised to see a striker of his instincts and potential find his way onto a few south-of-the-border shopping lists.
“There is a shortage of strikers, goalscoring strikers. That’s a fact,” Boyd adds. “If you’ve got someone who is regularly scoring, they are going to attract interest. That’s just football. We always speak about strikers making the difference.
“That’s what happens.”
