Quite simply with two Old Firms in the next month, it has to be. Scoring two goals and providing an assist, Hamza Igamane was the image of victory against the French outfit who hadn’t lost at home all season – this was very much the Moroccan’s announcement moment.
Starting for only the third time following a move from AS FAR this summer, the 22-year-old shone. Rangers have been crying out for fresh energy and identity in recent weeks, with Clement continually discussing a ‘new’ squad yet trusting older heads. As Igamane led the line and Dujon Sterling continued to hold down the right-back spot while Cyriel Dessers and James Tavernier started on the bench, there was a degree of symbolism at the Allianz Riviera.
Clement included Igamane due to the striker’s superior link-up play with Nice’s aggressive man-for-man pressing making build-up through the pitch risky. Dessers is a forward who wants to face goal, not play with his back to it. Like Danilo, Igamane’s ability to bring others into play upgraded the Ibrox side’s attack as demonstrated below.
The passes received by Igamane in Nice
This would be a night that presented Rangers with more space than they could’ve hoped for come the second-half. When Ally McCoist joked he’d fancy 10 minutes clambering off the gantry on TNT commentary duty given the wide-open gaps presented by the hosts you sensed he was only half-joking. Six or seven goals were not out of the question had Clement’s men put their foot to the floor.
Before the game became stretched and the hosts’ disillusioned, Rangers had to tip this match in their favour, however. Igamane and Nedim Bajrami fluffed an excellent early opportunity when racing through on goal but soon after, the forward connected with Sterling’s cross to create a shooting opportunity Vaclav Cerny turned into the opener. Notice the No.22 arriving centrally, from the centre-back’s blindspot, to chest down the cross and provide an assist.
After Mohamed Diomande’s forward running resulted in a second, Igamane was quick to score a third. Latching onto a loose backpass before rounding the keeper and taking his time to find the net. Again notice how far away Igamane is in the first frame, so much so that Nice defender Abdelmonem doesn’t take a second glance before paying a backpass. Igamane is disguising a spring into action.
The forward’s strike after the break featured similar themes to both first-half goal involvements. Whether in his pressing or ball receptions Igamane appears a player who operates on the margins of a move before popping up right at the centre. Hiding in a defender’s blindspot to intercept a backpass, chesting down a cross after running from a wide area or regaining possession singlehandedly before finding the bottom corner.
This relaxed, confident posture was all over the striker’s performance. Rangers have been starved of individualism in the final third for far too long and here, there was a sense they could’ve found a new protagonist.
“It was crucial in this game against Nice because they’re really strong pressing one-v-one. If you don’t have this high support to win duels, you don’t come [up the pitch] in the game because you’re all the time pressured,” Clement said discussing Igamane’s role on the night.
“It was a massive important role that he had today and he did it brilliantly. It’s good that fans, that you guys also start to see the potential that is in this group and I understand that there were a lot of questions about some decisions. In the summer we had a lot of talks about that. We had to cut the wages so much. So we had to fish in a pool also that is maybe less clear for fans and for journalists. But I think Hamza showed already the potential he has for the future and that he can become an important Rangers player.”
Igamane arrived as an unknown at Ibrox this summer. Still learning English and working with an interpreter at the training ground, the young attacker was also injured upon joining. It may have appeared a slow journey externally for a player signed in July, especially given the club’s situation and lack of resources in attacking areas, but Igamane represents a shift in how and where Rangers recruit.
While Jefte was a player that Technical Director Nils Koppen had prior knowledge of in the Brazilian market, and had attempted to bring to former club PSV, Igamane first appeared on Rangers’ radar after standing out in a data search. The club have invested in a bespoke data-scouting tool to increase the quality and scope of its reach. Like most recruitment departments, data is part of the picture and process that provides a wide scope man-power cannot, identifing players and profiles of interest before video and in-person scouting take place.
Crucially, the bespoke scouting tool Rangers have created in-house allows them to combine technical and physical data in one profile, which is a recent development, providing data benchmarks and scores relative to the league and club. While not every player brought to Ibrox this summer was identified initially by a data search, sources suggest it’s a process that should be repeated more regularly moving forward alongside strong networks, relationships and in-person work.
Read more:
How Rangers signed Jefte: Koppen link, APOEL clause and a pursuit in January
Why Barron, Jefte and Igamane show Rangers’ recruitment is changing
Following extensive video scouting Rangers travelled to watch Igamane in person before the summer window, meeting the player and his representatives. Like the move to sign Jefte from Brazil, Oscar Cortes from Colombia and Diomande from the Danish league, sources suggest that while previous knowledge of said markets existed before the summer, there’s been a conscious shift in the leagues and regions Rangers will aim to target moving forward.
Indeed, Koppen told the Rangers Review in an exclusive interview that he “doesn’t believe” in scouting the Championship due to the lack of value for money it represents. The club are not spending resources scouting matches in the top five leagues because it is in providing a route to those leagues and finding young players who can make the next step that presents the best financial option.
While Igamane’s game still has raw elements and the attacker can stray from a No.9 berth when games require a focal point, there’s remained a belief internally that the African forward can surprise people when handed an opportunity. That was the case as he came on as a substitute during a 1-0 win over Dundee United in September and immediately improved Clement’s team.
Danilo’s difficult recovery from injury this summer has seen Dessers play the lion’s share of minutes at No.9. Igamane was signed to challenge the two forwards who arrived in the Michael Beale era. It has naturally taken time to settle into a totally different culture with a new language. Rangers have employed a new player-liaison officer to support young players making the move to Scotland in order to create the best possible environment this year. Igamane has struck up a particularly close bond with fellow new arrival Bajrami, who moved to Ibrox from Italy on deadline day.
“It’s a big talent, we had to do it now because in a year we could never afford that type of player,” Clement said recently discussing the club’s move to acquire Igamane in the summer. The Moroccan forward points to a change in how Rangers recruit – the task now is to make a starting spot his own.
