Glasgow Rangers haven’t enjoyed much success in the transfer market in recent years. Philippe Clement does appear to be adopting a new strategy which has seen the Light Blues focus on younger players. Players with huge potential that can be sold for significant profits down the line.
This has worked wonders for Celtic, who have nurtured players like Matt O’Riley, Jota, and Kieran Tierney over the previous few years, before selling them for major fees, which has enabled the club to rinse and repeat the same strategy.
The Ibrox side have the likes of Nico Raskin, Mohamed Diomande, and Connor Barron, who are all aged 23 or under and yet to hit the peak years of their career. Developing this trio over the next couple of years will see the Gers rake in millions, no doubt about that.
Clement does have a rather special talent in his squad who could go on to be the next big sale at Ibrox, following in the footsteps of Calvin Bassey and Nathan Patterson.
Hamza Igamane’s meteoric rise from an unknown striker last summer to the club’s main man eight months later has been remarkable.
Hamza Igamane is Rangers’ prized asset
When Clement spent £1.7m to sign Igamane last summer from Moroccan side AS FAR, it appeared as though this was a decent chunk of his transfer budget wasted on a player who wouldn’t be ready for first team football.
Indeed, suspicions were proved correct when the 22-year-old missed the first few weeks of the season, as Clement went on to say:
“Hamza is doing parts of the training now with the group, so step by step he’s going to the physical level that we need in the training and later on in the games. He’s showing a lot of interesting things with the ball, what we saw in the images that we saw from him in the games in Morocco.”
He finally made his debut against Celtic in September and has since gone from strength to strength at the Light Blues.
Across 30 matches, Igamane has scored 13 goals while registering seven assists in all competitions as he has begun to prove his worth to Clement, most notably in the Europa League.
Indeed, the youngster has found the back of the net four times in just six European games so far this season, including a brace against Nice and a goal against Tottenham Hotspur.
Igamane scores once every 91 minutes in Europe’s second tier competition, while he also averages 1.2 key passes and succeeds with 1.7 dribbles per game.
Metric
Premiership
Europa League
Goals
9
4
Assists
1
1
Shots per game
3
1.8
Conversion rate (%)
15
36
Big chances created
5
1
Via Sofascore
He hasn’t been bad domestically either. A hat-trick against Hibs at the start of 2025 was one highlight, being able to handle the physical nature of Scottish football rather well.
These performances have seen his market value rise and if he maintains his form, it will only continue to soar.
Hamza Igamane’s market value at Rangers
At the time of writing, Igamane is currently valued at €2.5m (£2m) according to Transfermarkt. While it isn’t much of an increase on his initial £1.7m transfer fee, every goal he scores could go towards boosting his valuation.
It shows that he is heading in the right direction and that there is a chance that he will eventually be at a point where the Gers could cash in on him for a profit.
Clement sold a few players last summer to raise funds for future signings, which included Igamane. However, one of these players is now currently worth more than the Moroccan centre-forward, despite being sold for peanuts.
How much Rangers sold Todd Cantwell for
Todd Cantwell was certainly a player who divided opinion at Rangers during his 18 months in Glasgow.
On his day, there was arguably no one better in the Premiership. But the Ibrox faithful didn’t see this side of the Englishman too often.
It was clear that Clement didn’t really see Cantwell as a key member of his side going forward, and his future was questioned throughout the summer transfer window.
On deadline day, the former Norwich City starlet joined Blackburn Rovers for a fee of just £500k as Clement was keen on getting the midfielder off the wage bill.
He has since enjoyed his time back in the Championship, impressive for Rovers in the second division of English football.
Todd Cantwell’s Blackburn statistics
The Englishman has played 27 times for Blackburn this season, scoring twice while grabbing three assists.
Lauded as a ”god-given” talent by his former youth coach, Gary Cockaday, Cantwell averages 1.1 shots per game in the Championship, while he also has created nine big chances, averages 1.7 key passes and succeeds with 56% of his dribble attempts.
It has been a productive return to the second tier for the former Gers star, and it appears as though this is a division where he manages to play his best football.
Indeed, when compared to his positional peers in the Championship, Cantwell ranks in the top 9% for progressive passes (5.05) and in the top 14% for shot-creating actions (4.1) per 90, showcasing his attacking abilities.
This has seen his market value rise, despite only joining Blackburn last summer.
Todd Cantwell’s market value at Blackburn Rovers
According to Transfermarkt, Cantwell is now valued at €3.5m (£3m) due to his impressive displays down south.
Considering they paid just £500k for the player, the club could make a decent profit should they decide to cash in on him in the near future, and it proves that the Light Blues were perhaps too hasty in moving him on.
This value is £1m more than what Igamane is currently worth, which again, shows why it was a mistake in getting rid of the attacking midfielder when they did, as he is already worth more than the Moroccan ace and significantly more than the fee they raked in for his services.
Of course, Cantwell wasn’t perfect, and he had his flaws on the pitch. But when the Englishman was in full flow, he could terrorise defences up and down the country like no one else.
It appears as though he has rediscovered his mojo since making the move back down to England and, hopefully, this reignites a career that once saw him linked with a £40m move to Aston Villa just four years ago.
He's outscoring Igamane: Rangers must rue missing out on £60m "powerhouse"
Rangers previously showed interest in a player who is now worth £60m.
ByRoss Kilvington
