Hamza Igamane has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past three months.
The 22-year-old is quickly becoming a fan favourite during his first season at Rangers.
He’s made the unusual move from his native Morocco to Scotland.
The striker has become one of British football's most talked about forwards.
This scout report will look to highlight the many qualities that Igamane possesses.
Assessment of his technical, tactical and physical attributes will be made in our player analysis.
Consideration will also be made over the level the forward could potentially reach at both club and international level.
Who Is Hamza Igamane?
Igamane was developed in the AS FAR Rabat academy.
After graduating to the first team he helped contribute to the club’s success.
The side who have been one of the top teams in the Botola Pro over the past couple of seasons.
Igamane had an impressive 24 goal contributions in 58 games for his boyhood club.
Hamza Igamane’s style of play has also gained him international recognition.
The Temara-born forward was called up to Morocco’s u23 squad in 2023.
The Atlas Lions u23 side successfully won the u23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Rangers signed the forward for a fee of £2.36m in July 2024.
Igamane arrived as a prospect that many expected to provide backup to established forwards Dessers and Danilo.
Igamane fulfilled this role during the opening months of the season.
Yet, as Dessers' form continued to decline, Phillipe Clement turned to the Moroccan forward.
Having been given his first European start in the Europa League against Nice, Igamane took his opportunity.
He scored two goals and got one assist.
Since then, Igamane has established himself as Rangers first choice centre forward.
He’s managed an impressive 13 goals and three assists in 26 games.
In what has been a lacklustre season for the Teddy Bears, Igamane has performed exceptionally.
Yet what makes Hamza Igamane's playing style so special?
Hamza Igamane Position
Igamane isn’t the typical profile that clubs in the Scottish Premiership tend to go for when they look for a number 9.
Igamane won’t pin the opposition’s defenders through his strength.
He also won’t dart in behind the opposition’s backline to cause problems.
Igamane prefers to drift to get involved in the play.
Here, we see a clear example of a position Igamane can often take up.
He has drifted out wide and dropped in order to receive the ball at his feet.
His tendency to drop and get involved in play can be demonstrated statistically.
He has a percentile rank of 95.5% for passes received when compared to strikers in the Scottish Premiership.
Hanza Igamane Vs Cyriel Dessers Heatmap
If you compare his heat map with his teammate, Cyriel Dessers, you can see the different role he provides.
Dessers has a far greater level of activity in the box.
Igamane contrasts by having more actions around the penalty area.
This highlights the different roles that both forwards play.
Igamane has also shown at times this season he has the capability to play as a left winger.
Throughout his short career, he’s played across the front three, as well as occasional stints at 10.
This provides versatility that can often be so valuable for managers.
Hamza Igamane Physical Attributes
Standing at 181 cm, Igamane is far from the tallest centre-forward in Scotland.
This is seen in his lack of proficiency when it comes to winning aerial duels.
The forward has only managed to win 32% of his aerial duels this season.
This gives him a percentile rank of 38.3% when compared to Scottish Premiership strikers regarding the same metric.
Despite his lack of quality when it comes to aerial duels, Igamane is an incredibly robust striker.
The Moroccan has an unbelievable ability to control the ball on his chest, even under intense challenges from defenders.
In this example, Igamane has a defender on his back.
As a long ball is played towards him he stands his ground.
He takes the ball perfectly on the chest.
This allows him to hold up the ball and provide a platform for his team to build from.
As previously highlighted, Igamane will often receive the ball in front of defenders.
This is down to his ability to control the ball and link play.
However, he lacks the blistering pace that would enable him to outpace defenders.
Yet he makes up for this with his tenacity and competitiveness.
Here, a long ball is miss controlled by the opposition’s centre-back.
Igamane puts him under severe pressure.
Through his strength and relentless press, he wins this loose-ball duel.
Hamza Igamane Attacking Abilities
All the previous aspects are important.
Nevertheless, none are as important as his ability to score goals.
He scores an impressive 13 goals in all competitions and averaging a goal every 112 minutes.
This contributes to his percentile rank of 91.1% for goals per 90 when compared with forwards in the Scottish Premiership.
Hamza Igamane Shots Map
When you look at Igamane’s shot map, you can see that he has a range of finishes.
He has a significant number of goals that would be considered typical finishes by strikers.
Here, as Rangers have worked the ball into a promising area, Igamane moves into a promising position.
He times his run to perfection.
This prevents his marker from tracking him, allowing him to freely slot the ball past the goalkeeper.
Igamane takes up many of these quality positions to score the majority of his goals.
Yet he also has the capability to produce outrageous finishes.
With an xG total of 10.03, Igamane has outperformed this number by almost three goals.
This pays tribute to the fact he’s scored some remarkable goals.
In this situation, Igamane finds himself on the left-hand side of the penalty area.
He is positioned at a difficult angle, and several defenders surround him.
Yet he curls the ball exquisitely into the far corner.
This genius extends to his capability to create chances out of nothing.
Igamane’s exquisite control and dribbling abilities help him to make opportunities for himself and others.
Hamza Igamane Penetrating Carries Map
This ability is evident when you see the number of penetrating carries that have led to him arriving in the opposition’s penalty area.
He has averaged 4.14 dribbles per 90.
He also ranks incredibly high for offensive duels win percentage.
In the Scottish Premiership, he has a percentile rank of 95.5 for offensive duels win percentage.
A perfect example of this quality was seen through one of his goals against Nice. In this situation, Igamane has just picked up the ball.
As the central defender presses him, he produces an outrageous nutmeg.
This allows him to enter the penalty area and slide the ball past the goalkeeper.
This creativity also helps him to create chances for his teammates.
He’s averaged 0.9 key passes and 1.06 shot assists per 90.
He has a percentile rank of 72.57% for dangerous passes per 90 when compared with forwards in the Scottish Premiership.
Here, he picks the ball up on the edge of the area.
Igamane passes the ball through the legs of his opponent.
This finds his teammate, who’s made a run into the area and who fires the ball home.
Hamza Igamane Defending Abilities
While Igamane’s strengths lie in his attacking ability, he also needs to be able to defend.
Igamane ranks just below average when it comes to defensive duel win percentage.
He has a percentile rank of 49% for this metric when compared with forwards in his league.
He wins 34% of his defensive duels.
However, it’s not because of a lack of effort.
Here, as an opponent has his back to goal, Igamane spots this trigger.
He’s quick to press and forces his opponent to give up possession.
Igamane’s importance defensively has been more evident in his role during big games.
Rangers have often adopted a mid-block against tough opposition.
This allows them to hit their opponents on the break when they win possession.
Igamane must play a key role in leading his side’s defensive strategy.
In this example against Celtic, Igamane helps to force the opposition one way.
He begins by arcing his run and cutting off the options the man on the ball has.
This makes the opposition’s play predictable, aiding Rangers' quest to win back possession.
Hamza Igamane Future Potential
The rumours are vast that Igamane is being monitored by clubs in the Premier League.
Everton and Tottenham are just two of the clubs that have been rumoured to be watching him closely.
Being tied down until the summer of 2029, Rangers will demand a hefty fee for their star forward.
I believe Igamane’s strengths would suit many of Europe’s top leagues.
However, he may lack some athletic qualities to join the English top flight immediately.
It also appears that Igamane will soon receive his first call-up to the Moroccan national team.
There’s no doubt that Igamane could provide competition to experienced strikers En-Nesyri and El Kaabi.
Rangers fans will be delighted with their new man regardless of the future.
The Gers faithful will be hoping for many more goals and pieces of magic, Igamane.
His goals may be a key component of success in seasons to come.
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