It hasn’t taken Hamza Igamane long to catch the imagination of the Rangers support – or indeed for the youngster to do much at all really.
A bit of tight Tannadice chest control and a surging run was enough to offer a flash of excitement to a support that have spent the summer sulking under dark clouds. But with that 25-minute cameo against Dundee United last week suddenly there was fresh hope that in the 21-year-old former AS FAR Rabat hitman, maybe Philippe Clement had unearthed the kind of gem that will be needed if Gers are to somehow compete with Brendan Rodgers’ sparkling Celtic side.
If they sound a bit overeager, it’s because they are. The repeated failings of this Ibrox side have left the Ibrox support desperate for a saviour, be it a Saudi sheikh or a marauding Moroccan striker. But the truth is, if Igamane is going to step up to become the club’s new No.9, he’s going to have to replace the goals Cyriel Dessers is currently providing this Light Blues line-up.
It’s now seven in the last eight with a couple of assists for good measure. No one needs reminding of the flaws in Dessers’ game which mean he’ll never quite be fully accepted by the Ibrox legions.
But the slick double he netted in Rangers 3-0 win over Dundee as they marched into the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals showed again that when in the mood, he can be a potent force up front for Clement. So as far as the competition offered by Igamane or injured rival Danilo is concerned, Dessers’ view is clear: bring it on.
“I’m happy with that, actually,” insisted the Nigerian international. “I think at a big club like Rangers there will always be competition. That’s good, because we play 65 games a season. Probably I will not play 65 games, all 90 minutes!
“So it’s really good that Hamza and Dani are here. I’m sure we will need them and that they will be ready at that moment. You can see Hamza, he has something. I can see it as well in training.
“When he comes in, he has something and I’m happy with that. I’m supporting him, he’s supporting me. We’re helping each other because we know that in a long season like you have at Rangers, you want to do well in the two cups, in the league and in Europe.
“You cannot do it alone as a striker. We will need all of our strikers this season, and hopefully we can score a lot of goals – all of us.”
Having netted 22 goals last season, Dessers is on course to more than match that this term with seven already. He said: ”Yeah, it’s decent form. I’m happy with those stats.
“A few assists as well, so I think I’m in a good moment right now. I’ve got good momentum, but I just want to keep going. Obviously, you want more than this. But I’m happy. It’s good to start a season like this. I want to keep building on this.”
The pick of Saturday night’s goals was Dessers’ second, a firm finish from a bouncing Nedim Bajrami cross. And the striker has high hopes for that budding relationship with the Albanian.
“I played against him in Italy, so I know his qualities already,” said the former Cremonese frontman. I’ve seen his qualities at the highest level in the Serie A. He’s a very, very good player.
“I was happy when he signed. He’s shown things in training and he showed things against Dundee that make me happy as a striker. He’s a player that is looking for a striker, trying to provide. Trying to find a good connection so we can help each other with runs or with passes.
“This was the first time we played together and I think you can see the connection. But not only with him, I think with Vaclav Cerny on the other side, with Tom Lawrence in midfield, I think I have a good connection with all of these guys. It’s only the beginning of the season, but I think that’s surely a start to build on.”