Before word of transfer interest in Hamza Igamane leaked, it’s likely that a large number of Rangers supporters were unaware of the striker’s identity.
After learning of a £1.7 million Rangers bid, fans frantically tapped their phones and laptops. The 21-year-old Moroccan hitman has played his whole career in North Africa.
However, the man who will have assisted in identifying Igamane is well-versed in the potential that comes from Morocco, home of the Atlas Lions, the most advanced football team in the region.
A trip to the World Cup Semifinals in Qatar indicates that the country is home to many talented football players, thus it should come as no surprise to see Nils Koppen exploring Rabat.
Particularly considering that the director of recruitment for Rangers has previously had great success with one local football player who is well-known to Ibrox supporters.
Koppen raised Rangers destroyers. Fans of Rangers may recall Ismael Saibari from the Champions League qualifying round of the previous campaign.
To go to the land of milk and honey in European football, the Gers defeated PSV Eindhoven and Ruud van Nistelrooy under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
But just a year later, a resurrected Rangers were destroyed by Michael Beale and a more seasoned Peter Bosz-led PSV. Ismael Saibari, who delighted Rangers supporters greatly, started both legs of the 7-3 aggregate loss.
Saibari, who scored twice in the second leg in the Netherlands, was awarded Player of the Match. As the summer’s qualifications approach, the sight of the offensive midfielder is sure to haunt bluenose dreams.
Now rated at a whopping £50m by Moroccoan pundit Ali Boussaboun amid links to Arsenal, the 23-year-old is one of the Eredivisie’s top talents.
However, if it weren’t for Nils Koppen, the child might not have succeeded in Holland. In fact, in 2017 Barcelona-born Saibari was moved from Anderlecht to Genk during Koppen’s tenure there.
The Belgian was then a member of the PSV recruitment team that signed Saibari in 2020. Rangers hired Koppen at the start of the year after he proved to be successful in the Netherlands, and it is evident that the Belgian has some familiarity with the Moroccan playing culture and region.
One of the “best young strikers in football” is Igamane.
Rangers supporters will see some parallels between Ismael Saibari and Hamza Igamane, despite the fact that the 23-year-old’s narrative is slightly different because he was born in Europe.
With any luck, Rangers will be able to turn the striker into a Moroccan international at Ibrox and profit handsomely from any player trades in the future.
Reports from Morocco and Scotland indicate that a move for the 21-year-old is already quite some way off, even if the deal has not yet been announced. What then does Rangers get in the form of Hamza Igamane?
CIES Football Observatory data indicates that Rangers would be acquiring one of the best U23 strikers in the world of football.
Hamza Igamane, using their “performance score,” comes in at a respectable seventh place, sharing the ranks of players like Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig, Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea, and Joshua Zirkzee of Bologna.
In recent months, all three of these players have been the focus of prominent transfer rumors, including exorbitant prices.
Through the transfer agreement, Rangers would be able to recruit Hamza Igamane before the elite teams in Europe finance a move, and at a critical juncture in his development.
It’s an exciting transfer for the team and definitely fits with Rangers’ fresh approach to the transfer market this summer, assuming a deal closes as anticipated.
With more names to come, the Rangers have already signed Jefte (Fluminense), Oscar Cortes (RC Lens), and Clinton Nsiala (AC Milan) to their roster.
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