Hamza Igamane has left Rangers to join French club Lille, bringing his time in Scotland to an end after only a year.
The 22-year-old striker made the move days after refusing to come off the bench in Rangers’ defeat to St Mirren. Manager Russell Martin had called him to enter the game, but Igamane told staff he had picked up a quad problem in the warm-up.
Rangers later confirmed his departure, saying: “We can confirm Hamza Igamane has joined Lille OSC for an undisclosed fee. He leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Rangers.”
Igamane joined from AS FAR in Morocco for around $2.2m last summer. He took time to settle but went on to score 16 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions. Highlights included a Europa League double against Nice, a hat-trick against Hibs, and a dramatic Old Firm winner at Celtic Park in March.
His form also earned him a first senior cap for Morocco earlier this year and for the September qualifiers against Niger and Tanzania. But he went 11 games without scoring in the spring, and rumours over his future grew louder.
Lille met the $13.7m release clause in his contract this week, handing Rangers a profit of almost $11.5m on their original outlay. AS.FAR will also pocket a substantial cut from this sale after inserting a sell-on clause in his contract following his big-money move from Rabat to Glasgow.
The French club described Igamane as a “young striker with explosiveness, pressing ability and a wide margin of progression” in their announcement, adding that they see him as a player to develop further in Ligue 1.
Igamane, who was named Rangers’ Young Player of the Year last season, now swaps Glasgow for Lille, where he will hope to make the same impact in France as he managed during his brief stay in Scotland.
