As the clamour for January additions grows amongst an unhappy Rangers fanbase, CEO Patrick Stewart is keen to provide some perspective.
This is, the chief executive says, a Rangers side hit hard by injuries.
While their recent form has left a lot to be desired – that Celtic hammering, bizarrely, is their only win in their last five Scottish Premiership matches – criticism of Philippe Clement’s side should be contextualised by the absences of James Tavernier, John Souttar, Jack Butland, Leon Balogun, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Dujon Sterling and Tom Lawrence.
Stewart argues that, with Souttar, Butland and Tavernier due to return sooner rather than later, the Rangers squad is not quite as thin as it has looked at times in the post-Christmas period.
Furthermore, the Ibrox CEO expects some of last summer’s additions to take their game to another level in 2025. Nedim Bajrami, Jefte and Hamza Igamane are all still new to Scottish football, after all, and their influence should only grow with greater experience under their belts.
Rangers CEO expects a big 2025 for Nedim Bajrami, Jefte and Hamza Igamane
“We’ve got players that are coming back from injury. We’ve got players that are contributing far more and you’ve seen they’re contributing far more in the second quarter of the season,” Stewart says.
“Three of them – Hamza, Jefte, and Bajrami – have contributed far more in the second quarter of the season. We’d expect that development to continue into the second half of the season.
“And we had players out for a large part of the first half of the season that only just come back from injury. We’ve got players that are injured at the moment that will be coming back so we actually have a large squad.”
Jefte’s running power and aggression has helped Rangers move on from Borna Barisic, while Bajrami has blossomed in his favoured number ten role of late after starting life in Scotland as a left-winger.
And Igamane has seven strikes in ten Premiership starts now, the £1.7 million signing from RAF Rabat rapidly establishing himself as one of the club’s best value signings in recent memory as he puts together a handsome collection of Goal of the Season contenders.
Hamza Igamane has caught the eye of Premier League outfit Everton. Stewart insists that Rangers have no plans to flip the Moroccan for a quick profit, however, as he also plays down the prospect of Cyriel Dessers leaving Glasgow for Italy, France or America.
Patrick Stewart says Hamza Igamane is not leaving Ibrox yet
“Just to be clear, I’ve not said that we’re not doing business,” Stewart adds. “But we’ll only do business that’s right for the long-term benefit of the club. A quick fix I just don’t believe is the responsible thing for us to be doing as an executive team and for me to be doing as a CEO.
“The question of whether or not we do business is about both looking at the short-term impact but it’s also going to have a long-term benefit as well.
“We don’t want to sell Hamza in January. We want him to be here for the second part of the season, I’ll be very clear on that.
“I think I would be told it was irresponsible if we sold a player. There’s always a balance, but January is not typically a window in which those sorts of transactions take place.
“We’re always, as a board, going to be looking at the long-term and striking a balance in the long-term. That’s our duty, but Hamza’s only came into the team and started scoring, and we want him to be here for the second part of the season, as I’m sure all the supporters do as well.”
