'The best player in the world': Former Ibrox ace blown away by Rangers' £1.7m signing

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They say first impressions count, and one of Rangers’ ten summer signings has certainly made a good one.

While Philippe Clement had no qualms about throwing Connor Barron straight in at the deep end before introducing Vaclav Cerny, Jefte and Robin Propper to his starting XI, Hamza Igamane has had to be patient during his first few weeks in Glasgow.

Clement put the £1.7 million signing from RAF Rabat in the same category as Clinton Nsiala back in the throes of pre-season.

The two Rangers youngsters, he said, were unlikely to play a leading role in the first-team from the off.

But while former AC Milan starlet Nsiala continues to hone his talents in Rangers’ B team – he played the entire 90 minutes in the SPFL Trust Trophy victory over Fraserburgh – Igamane’s own involvement appears to have been fast-tracked after more than holding his own during those behind-the-scenes training sessions.

Hamza Igamane is starting to really excite Rangers fans

The Morocco Under 23 international caught the eye off the bench in that 3-0 defeat by Celtic before the international break.

Igamane was then afforded 25 minutes in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Dundee United. Ten more than he got against The Hoops. And it’s fair to say the striker did his hopes of further first-team involvement no harm at all.

“Any Rangers fan, you are trying to get positives at the start of the season. You don’t want to get carried away. But, the boy Igamane, he is the best player in the world!,” former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday tells the Open Goal Podcast on YouTube.

Obviously, Halliday was not being entirely serious. Erling Haaland’s Ballon D’Or hopes are not going to be undercut by Hamza Igamane any time soon.

But Halliday’s excitement is shared by a Rangers fanbase blown away by the 21-year-old’s imperious chest control, his physical prowess, and his ability to drop deep and play clever passes in behind the opposition backline.

“He looked really good, I thought, when he came on,” adds Halliday. Look, it’s been two minute cameos. But you can see when he came on, (he is) really powerful.”

Legendary Ibrox hitman Kenny Miller, after running the rule over Igamane, told the Daily Record that there were similarities between Rangers’ new 29 and a young Alfredo Morelos.

And the similarities do not stop at their all-action playing style. A £1 million signing from HJK Helsinki back in 2017, Morelos also arrived at Ibrox to limited expectations before blossoming into a fan favourite and one of the best pound-for-pound signings in the club’s modern history.

“How good is he with his chest, by the way, bringing balls down?” former Motherwell, St Mirren and Dundee United goalkeeper Trevor Carson adds in response to Halliday.

“(There is) a wee bit of Morelos about him.”

Has Philippe Clement got the next Alfredo Morelos?

With Danilo out injured again, Igamane will be hoping that a first ever Rangers start is on the horizon. Clement’s side face Dundee in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals this weekend.

Hamza, like I said when we signed him, it’s a big talent,” Clement said after Tom Lawrence gave The Gers all three points at Tannadice. “We had to do (sign him) now because, if it would have been one year later, we could never afford that kind of player.

“He’s coming straight out of a Moroccan competition, Moroccan culture. Everything is new for him. He was also injured when he came. So it took time to get him more fit.

“And that’s what we’re going to do the next weeks and the next months, to give him opportunities to grow as a young player.

“But you see already a lot of good basic qualities.”