Rangers news round-up: Philippe Clement sack stance shared, regular could leave for £8m
Rangers are going through a tough period of the season with more fears emerging ahead of the summer transfer window in the shape of Hamza Igamane.
Off the back of Rangers’ 1-0 defeat to Queen’s Park, the mood at Ibrox is rather low and understandably so given the season at hand.
The Light Blues appear unlikely to achieve any form of success this season, following exits from both domestic cups, matched by the almost unsalvageable 13-point gap to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Those situations have seen the pressure increase on Philippe Clement, while a fresh claim has also been made on Igamane as Ibrox News rounds up the day’s big Rangers talking points.
Yilmaz Update emerges ahead of Hearts clash
Rangers are preparing for an encounter with Hearts this weekend, with a fresh update provided on Ridvan Yilmaz.
The Rangers ace is back in full training but Dr Brar exclusively revealed to Ibrox News that he is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes at Tynecastle, with fears of aggravating his concerns.
“He’s back in full first-team training and he’s far along in the process of returning to matches, as long as he tolerates training well,” he said.
“He’s still unlikely to play the full 90 minutes this weekend as he’s not had too much game time under his belt so chances of re-injury are high.“
Leon Balogun responds to Rangers rumours
Leon Balogun has been an integral part of this Ranger aside, but an injury sustained against Manchester United has seen him ruled out since.
Claims had been made that the 36-year-old is planning to hang up his boots, but they were immediately shut down by the Rangers defender when responding to a question raised by Flashscore.
Balogun responded: “False claims. I think I clarified recently. Sorry to be a bit harsh there, maybe, but it’s out there. And I just said it to you yourself. Those claims are, how do we like to say nowadays? Fake news.”
His contract at Ibrox is due to expire at the end of the current campaign.
Patrick Stewart shares stance on Philippe Clement sacking
Patrick Stewart has given the reason why the Light Blues are yet to sack the Belgian despite the wretched season that Rangers are enduring.
Patience is wearing thin for Clement at Rangers but any sack decision is unlikely to come soon based on Stewart’s comments after a meeting with the Fan Advisory Board.
A statement released reads: “PS reiterated that the decision to retain Philippe Clement as manager was not a financially driven decision, rather it was recognition there was so much else to fix in the football department.”
£8m Hamza Igamane claim made
Igamane has been an integral component for Rangers this season and the prospect of the campaign without him is certainly worrying.
Everton were winter-long admirers of the forward, though no move materialised in the end with Igamane staying put at Ibrox.
However, interest in the frontman is likely to resurface in the summer transfer window with Derek Ferguson revealing the likely price tag for Igamane, when speaking exclusively to Ibrox News.
Ferguson said: “Money talks. Whether it’s Everton, West Ham or whoever else, you’d be looking at between £6-8m to prise him away.
“They brought in for around £2.5m and that’d be a nice profit. He’s lost his way over the past few games, but he’s already a fans favourite.”