'We got a lot of criticism': Philippe Clement claims three Rangers stars are making their doubters look foolish

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Rangers’ recruitment record may have left a lot to be desired in recent times but, as Nils Koppen proved last summer, there is gold in them hills for those brave enough to dig a little deeper.

In the off-season, Rangers signed Hamza Igamane, Jefte and Clinton Nsiala for a combined fee of just over £2 million.

Igamane, nine goals in 12 Scottish Premiership starts now, can genuinely lay claim to being the club’s best pound-for-pound signing in recent memory. Jefte – the left-back so impressive of late that Gordon Dalziel has performed a complete U-turn in his opinion of the ‘brilliant’ Brazilian – arrived at Ibrox for around £400,000 from Fluminense.

Nsiala, meanwhile, joined on a free transfer when his contract at AC Milan expired.

If Rangers were to sell all three players now, only a few months into their Scottish football careers, it’s fair to say quite a handsome profit would be secured. Imagine how much Igamane, Jefte and Nsiala will cost a few years down the line.

And, speaking to the BBC Sport ahead of Rangers’ Scottish Cup fourth round clash with Highland League outfit Fraserburgh on Sunday, Clement feels that those who wrote off some of the club’s lesser-heralded transfers in the summer of 2024 have been left choking on a hearty portion of humble pie.

Philippe Clement thinks Rangers critics were wrong about three signings

“The club had a plan to make things better than in these last ten, twelve years, and it’s a long-term plan,” Clement explains. “I know a lot of people who are not working for the club think shorter but you need to look long-term. And this is the hardest part, the start of it.

“You see already some some fruits growing.

“We got a lot of criticism about getting players like Hamza – he never played at this level – or Jefte and Clinton Nsiala. They never played at this level, but people start to see now why we brought them in.

“And that story will continue in the next months and the next years because that’s what the club needs, to have a drastic change and not to have only short-term.”

Everton eye Hamza Igamane as Clinton Nsiala likened to Virgil van Dijk

Igamane has been a revelation. So much so that Premier League outfit Everton are already taking an interest, only a few months after he arrived as a relative unknown from Moroccan outfit RAF Rabat. Much to the relief of the Gers supporters, CEO Patrick Stewart insists that plan is to keep Igamane at Ibrox for the foreseeable future.

Jefte has made the left-back spot once nailed down by Borna Barisic his own.

And Clinton Nsiala is earning comparisons to Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk after an imperious display at both ends of the pitch during Rangers’ 3-0 midweek win over Aberdeen. Not only did Nsiala help keep a clean sheet on only his third Premiership appearance, he also assisted Leon Balogun’s stoppage time strike while completing 91 per cent of his attempted passes.

"He's been amazing," Rangers winger Ross McCausland says of his fellow youngster. "Just even the past few games watching him. Us on the bench were saying he was like [Liverpool captain Virgil] Van Dijk. A left-footed Van Dijk. 

"It was good to see that he was ready for his opportunity and he's certainly took it."