With more than half of the Scottish Premiership season gone, it won’t be long before attention switches to the end of year awards. But will there be any gongs heading home to Rangers?
Derek Ferguson, the former Ibrox midfielder, thinks there may be.
Only one Rangers star has claimed Scotland’s Player of the Year award since Steven Davis all the way back in 2010. That was James Tavernier eleven years later, the season in which the rampaging right-back captained Steven Gerrard’s team to the league title.
And while the 2025 edition is likely to be a battle between Celtic skipper Callum McGregor and the irrepressible Nicolas Kuhn, Ferguson wonders if Hamza Igamane could be about to earn himself a place on the shortlist.
Arguably no Premiership newcomer has made more of an impact than Igamane this term. The £1.7 million signing from RAF Rabat, after settling into life on Scottish soil, has exploded into life with nine goals in just 13 starts.
Igamane is just two shy of Dundee United’s Sam Dalby in the Golden Boot battle. The Moroccan is likely to feature heavily amongst the Goal of the Season candidates too, with thumping finishes against the likes of Kilmarnock and Ross County sticking in the memory.
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Rangers newbie Hamza Igamane tipped for Player of the Year battle
“Kuhn has been excellent. I think McGregor has been good but, from a Rangers point of view, Igamane for me [deserves to be in with a shout]. He’s great to watch!,” Ferguson argues.
“You must love watching him.”
The Young Player of the Year award is perhaps a more attainable target at present for a man who only celebrated his 22nd birthday back in November.
Rangers have enjoyed more success with that particular award over the years. Ryan Kent picked it up in 2019, followed by then-Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman three seasons later.
Philippe Clement labels Igamane one of Rangers’ most improved players in recent times, meanwhile. Jefte, Mohamed Diomande and Nico Raskin also were also singled out for praise after Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Union Saint Gilloise secured a place in the last-16 of the Europa League.
“It’s good also that people start to see more and more [proof of our progress]. The things we talked about a few months ago, that people maybe didn’t believe or didn’t realise. They see this more and more, and this qualification in the Europa League is one of those things,” Clement said after Rangers snook into the tournament’s top eight on the final matchday.
“That is a proof of [our development]. With all these young guys on the pitch and the evolution that several have made during this month, if you see how Nico Raskin playing now.
“Or Diomande, or Igamane, or Jefte.”
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Igamane plays down Tottenham and Everton links
The striker has been linked with a move to Premier League duo Tottenham Hotspur and Everton only a few months into his Rangers career.
Hamza Igamane made no mention of a transfer when selecting his ambitions for 2025, however, choosing instead to focus on maintaining his staggering progress and forcing his way into the Morocco roster.
“[I want] to maintain the pace of development, [and] to provide evidence that I do not stop working because I have not reached the position I want for myself,” Igamane explains.
“I [also] hope to quickly reach the den of the Atlas Lions, and have the honour of defending the colours of my country.”
“I would be lying to you if I told you that I am not thinking about the Moroccan national team,” the striker admits. “Do I think about the national team? Yes, but I still have a lot of time to work and convince the national coach [Walid Regragui] that I deserve the opportunity.
