Igamane 'to double 49ers transfer kitty' as record Rangers exit set

Hamza Igamane could be about to hand Rangers a very lucrative opportunity in the transfer market.

The Moroccan youngster enjoyed a bright first season in Govan, notching 16 goals in all competitions in what was the first campaign of his career spent outside his homeland.

French side Lille are showing the most transfer interest in Igamane, but Rangers are standing firm on their valuation of the attacker.

Russell Martin is set to oversee plenty of changes at Ibrox this summer, but he first faces decisions on the stance to take surrounding some of his key players, with Nicolas Raskin also at the centre of speculation.

Rangers set £20m pricetag on Igamane

Kevin Thelwell is currently thought to be working with a transfer budget in the region of £20m, but a potential big sale could open that up a lot more.

Raskin seemed like the man who was set to be a money-spinning exit for Rangers, but now it appears that it is Igamane who could be about to take their spending capabilities to new levels this summer.

The 22-year-old is now at the centre of transfer interest from all five of the major European leagues, according to the print edition of Moroccan newspaper Le Matin (27 June, pg. 24), who describe him as one of Europe's most wanted talents.

The likes of Tottenham, Lazio, Lille, Sevilla and Bayer Leverkusen are all among the huge contingent of clubs who are keen on the forward, and his Rangers exit now seems somewhat inevitable, such is the level of interest.

However, the Bears now seem set to use that array of interest to their advantage, having put a price tag of £20m on Igamane.

That fee would see the youngster become Rangers' record sale, and could effectively double their transfer kitty, if the entire fee was made available to be reinvested into the squad.

Igamane sale would hand Rangers a big opportunity

It would be disappointing to see Igamane depart Ibrox after just one season, but if Rangers' demands of £20m are met, they would be silly not to sanction his sale.

The club are entering a new era this summer with a new boss in the dugout and a fresh takeover at boardroom level.

The opportunity to potentially have the best part of £40m to spend on bringing in players to suit Martin's system is surely too attractive a proposition to turn down.

Igamane will be a big loss, as he has already shown plenty of positive signs and has ample scope to continue to develop, but opportunities to make this kind of money from a single sale haven't come around too often for Rangers over the years.

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