Patience, Rangers boss Philippe Clement says, is the order of the day.
While some of the club’s summer signings should be able to immediately challenge for a first-team role at Ibrox – Connor Barron and Liam Kelly are proven Scottish Premiership operators while Jefte Vital has a full season of football on European soil under his belt – the others may need a little bit more time.
Rangers are now just three weeks away from opening the new league campaign away at Hearts.
Barron may be in contention to start, stepping in for the departed John Lundstram and Ryan Jack. Jefte will compete with Ridvan Yilmaz for the left-back berth after Borna Barisic said his goodbyes.
But, Clement says, do not expect to see Clinton Nsiala or Hamza Igamane thrown in at the deep end.
Speaking to Rangers Review, Clement is excited by the arrival of left-sided centre-half Nsiala. But while some are tipping the former AC Milan youngster to emulate Calvin Bassey’s success in Glasgow, Nsiala will have to bide his time as he awaits what would be the first senior league appearance of his career.
Fellow youngster Igamane will have to be patient too, European football brand new to a 21-year-old who arrives from Morocco.
Rangers bring in Clinton Nsiala and Hamza Igamane
“We have some players who have come in who are longer term,” explains Clement, two of Rangers’ summer additions very much ‘project’ sort of signings.
“Like Clinton Nsiala. He has a lot of talent, but he needs the experience and he needs to learn a lot of things. I don’t expect him to be a starting player.
“The same with Hamza Igamane. He will not be ready to start. He’s never trained or played physically at this level. He comes out of a holiday too, so we need to build him up. We have other players like Connor Barron and Jefte who can get there faster.”
Igamane, a powerful yet skilful centre-forward who scored seven goals for RAF Rabat last term, has been likened to one of the finest strikers in Rangers’ modern history.
Kenny Miller, via the Daily Record, believes there are not only stylistic similarities with Alfredo Morelos but feels the very deal that brought him to Scotland has shades of the £1 million transfer which took the then-little known Colombian from HJK Helsinki.
Nsiala, meanwhile, made his first Rangers appearance in Wednesday’s 0-0 friendly draw with Standard Liege.
Six players signed by Philippe Clement’s side already
Rangers, meanwhile, are expected to do plenty more business between now and the end of the window.
A left winger to replace Abdallah Sima and Fabio Silva may be required – Rangers were reportedly keen on Couhaib Driouech before his £3 million move to PSV Eindhoven – while strikers such as Rapid Bucharest hitman Albion Rrahmani continue to be linked.
Still, with six players through the door by mid-July, Rangers can be happy with their work so far.
“With players you want, you first need to convince them to come and then you need to convince their team that you pay the right amount of money,” explains Clement. “You can only make an evaluation on (the strength of the squad by) September 1.
“That is my reality. Sometimes you do business early, sometimes it can be the last day. It depends on the market. Also, my experience tells me that in the years you have World Cups or Euros, the market starts slower.
“We have been really busy already with watching a lot of players. Already we have done really good things for the future of the club.”
