Rangers supporters have endured a mixed season at Ibrox so far, it is fair to say.
In the Premiership, the title race was over before it ever really began, with the Gers having lost four matches already, all coming away from home, leaving Philippe Clement’s side a whopping ten points adrift run-away league-leaders Celtic, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, as has so often been the case in recent times, the Light Blues’ highlights have come in the Europa League, enjoying victories over Malmö, Nice and Steaua Bucharest, also holding Tottenham to a credible draw, so are already through to the knockout phase, seeking to sneak into the top eight when Royale Union Saint-Gilloise visited Ibrox on Thursday.
His European exploits in particular have left one Rangers player in high demand, a key figure Clement will be determined to keep hold of.
Rangers star striker in demand
As reported by Camillo Forte of Tuttosport, Everton are ‘on the verge’ of completing a deal to sign Rangers striker Hamza Igamane, claiming returning Toffees boss David Moyes is eager to bring in a new forward, given the underwhelming form of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto.
Igamane joined Rangers as recently as last summer from Moroccan club AS FAR for a reported £2.5m, but Mick Brown of Football Insider believes the club would sell for a “huge” price this month, adding that the Gers’ financial situation “means they’ll listen to offers for all of their players”.
The 22-year-old Moroccan has 13 goals to his name this season, four of which have come in the Europa League, most notably breaking the deadlock when Tottenham visited Ibrox in December.
He also slotted home a brace in the French Riviera during the demolition of Nice in November, before scoring a first hat-trick for the club earlier this month against Hibernian.
Given his recent form, Igamane would be a massive loss, should he depart before Monday’s deadline, but could Rangers return to the African market for a possible replacement?
A perfect Igamane replacement for Rangers
A report from South African-based outlet Soccer Laduma prior to the January window opening suggested that Rangers were ‘keeping a close eye’ on Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners.
The 29-year-old has four international goals to his name, most recently on target for Bafana Bafana during an AFCON qualifier against South Sudan in November.
However, it is his club form that has attracted attention; he scored 17 goals last season for Stellenbosch, earning him a move to current African Football League champions Mamelodi Sundowns last summer, scoring 13 times in just 22 appearances for them.
Clifton Mabasa of Goal described Rayners as a “goal-scoring machine”, with his manager Manqoba Mngqithi claiming his star player to be “one of the best goal-scorers” in South Africa right now.
Well, to back that assertion up, according to OptaJabu, Rayners scored 24 goals across all competitions in 2024, a tally only bettered by six players in the history of the South African Premier Division. So, how do Rayners and Igamne compare?
Appearances
22
27
Minutes
1,660
1,550
Goals
13
13
Assists
1
3
Big chances missed
1
5
Big chances created
1
6
Dribble success %
80%
47.4%
Average Sofascore rating
7.03
7.35
This season, the duo have played a near-identical number of minutes, there’s just under two hours in it, both with 13 goals to their name.
Rayners appears to be a more clinical finisher, missing only one big chance, compared to Igamane’s five, while the South African is a significantly better dribbler, albeit the Moroccan has created exponentially more chances for teammates, registering more assists too.
It’s also worth bearing in mind the respective levels the duo are plying their trade at; according to Global Football Rankings, the South African top-flight is the 58th strongest league in the world, while the Scottish Premiership comes in at 43rd, showing Rayners would need to make a step-up should he move to Glasgow, although not a ginormous one.
So, should Rangers lose their talismanic centre-forward this month, they’ll need a ready-made replacement, and Rayners could be just that, likely to cost less than if they were buying from another European club.
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