Rangers face awful Jelavic repeat at Ibrox

Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement appears to have earned himself the chance to use the January transfer window to turn the Ibrox club’s fortunes around this season.

Football Insider reported that the Belgian boss has ‘bought’ himself some reprieve against the pressure on his position at Rangers with the team’s recent performances domestically and in Europe.

The same outlet claimed, in November, that pressure was building on Clement and that the board were prepared to give him until the League Cup final to show enough to be given more time.

Since that report, the club’s only loss in eight matches came on penalties to Celtic in the League Cup final on Sunday, after a 3-3 draw in regulation time, which came a few days after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gers are still 11 points behind the Hoops in the Scottish Premiership table and failed to win the cup final, but their recent performances have done enough to convince the board that Clement deserves more time.

One thing that he, and Nils Koppen, must work hard to avoid, though, is losing any key stars in the January transfer window, amid reported interest in one of his top performers.

Premier League interest in Rangers starlet

According to The Boot Room, Premier League side Everton are showing a strong interest in Rangers centre-forward Hamza Igamane ahead of next month.

It states that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto’s respective futures at Goodison Park are in doubt and that they could be in the market to land a new striker, whether that is in January or next summer.

The report claims that scouts from the Merseyside outfit were in attendance to watch the in-form Moroccan forward in action against Spurs in the Europa League last week.

Igamane scored the opening goal in the match, finishing well on the volley from James Tavernier’s cross, and may have impressed the scouts watching on from the stands.

The Toffees appear to be the frontrunners with the strongest interest in the summer signing from FAR Rabat, but they are far from the only team eyeing the 22-year-old starlet up.

This latest report reveals that fellow Premier League sides West Ham United, Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, and Newcastle United have also been scouting the young gem, alongside European teams Lille, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atalanta.

Rangers are now, amid interest from a host of clubs across Europe, are now in danger of an awful repeat of the time they lost Nikica Jelavic during a January transfer window.

How much Rangers sold Nikica Jelavic for

At the start of 2012, Premier League side Everton swooped in to sign the 26-year-old Croatian marksman on a permanent basis for a fee of £5.5m, 18 months after his move to Ibrox from Rapid Vienna in the summer of 2010.

It was reported that his sale was key to the club being able to raise funds to do other deals, but they lost their star man and leading goalscorer in the process.

Jelavic was a star throughout his time in Glasgow and hit the ground running in the 2010/11 campaign, with an outstanding return of 19 goals and eight assists in 27 appearances in all competitions.

The Croatia international, who scored 16 times in 23 Scottish Premiership matches, showcased his ability to lead the line effectively, by scoring and creating goals on a regular basis for the Light Blues after joining from Rapid Vienna.

His performances helped the Gers to win the Premiership title and the League Cup, which shows that he was a decisive player who contributed to success on the pitch.

Jelavic followed that up with an eye-catching return of 17 goals and six assists in 28 games during the first half of the 2011/12 campaign, including 14 goals and four assists in 22 league outings.

Despite being in the midst of a title race, Rangers opted to cash in on him when Everton came calling and they ended up finishing second in the league, 20 points behind Celtic.

Meanwhile, Jelavic went on to score 11 goals in 16 matches for the Toffees, including nine in 13 Premier League appearances, in the second half of the season.

Why Hamza Igamane could be Nikica Jelavic 2.0

Clement and Koppen must avoid selling Igamane to Everton in January because it could have a similar impact on the club’s chances of success in the second half of the campaign.

The Moroccan whiz has not been scoring goals consistently for the past 18 months, as Jelavic had for the Gers by the start of 2012, but the summer signing’s recent form suggests that he will be key to any push for silverware in 2025.

In his last six appearances for the Scottish giants, the 22-year-old forward has produced five goals and two assists in all competitions, whilst being deployed as either a centre-forward or a left-winger.

The young gem, who was recently described as “delightful” by teammate Leon Balogun, was unfortunate not to contribute to a trophy success for Rangers on Sunday, as he was directly involved in two of the three goals in the 3-3 draw with Celtic before losing on penalties – with his shot forcing Kasper Schmeichel to parry the ball to Nedim Bajrami and his cross allowing Mohamed Diomande to score.

As you can see in the table above, Igamane has been incredibly productive in Europe for the Light Blues this season, with five direct goal contributions in two starts in the competition.

He has showcased his ability at the top end of the pitch domestically and in Europe and is the club’s in-form player at the moment, hence why so many European teams are taking an interest in potentially swooping for his services in January.

Rangers, however, should show ambition to win silverware in the second half of the season, and avoid losing their star striker to Everton, as they did with Jelavic in 2012.