Rangers laugh off bizarre loan approach for Hamza Igamane

Lille have been pursuing Igamane throughout the summer but the process has dragged on for some time. Formal discussions have been held in recent days in an attempt to find an agreement.

But the Rangers Review can reveal that the first offer was for Igamane to head to Ligue 1 on a loan deal this season. It is understood that no fee would have been payable as part of the proposal.

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That bid was instantly rebuffed by the Ibrox hierarchy and it remains to be seen if Lille will return to the negotiating table with a monetary offer that would tempt Rangers into doing business. Igamane will command a significant eight-figure fee if he is to leave Ibrox.

Reports on the continent have suggested that Igamane is keen to complete the switch just 12 months after arriving in Glasgow from AS Far. The 22-year-old scored 16 times in his first term as he made an immediate impression.

Igamane returned to Russell Martin’s squad on Saturday as Rangers beat Alloa in the Premier Sports Cup. He is now in contention to start against Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off round first leg after coming off the bench alongside summer recruit Thelo Aasgaard.

Martin confirmed on Monday afternoon that striker Cyriel Dessers remained a serious doubt after sustaining an injury in the defeat to Viktoria Plzen last week. Danilo is the other option that Martin has as he deliberates over his No.9 role for the European showdown.

“Yeah, I think big Cyriel's probably the only concern really,” Martin said. “So he'll be touch and go. He's responded really well to treatment and as I said it was nowhere near as bad as we first feared. So if it's not tomorrow, we expect him to be back for the weekend and next week.”