Despite a heartbreaking defeat in last Sunday’s League Cup Final, following a thrilling 3-3 draw, there are clear signs of progress from Rangers.
Philippe Clement’s Ibrox team have won four successive Premiership matches, scoring ten times across the last three, leapfroging Aberdeen this weekend.
Meantime, in the Europa League, the Light Blues have lost only once in the league phase thus far, holding Tottenham to a credible 1-1 draw in Govan last mid-week, unlucky not to beat the Premier League side.
So, with two fixtures to go, Rangers sit eighth in the gigantic league table, seeking to cling onto that position and go straight through to the round of 16 when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford and then Royale Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox in late January.
The primary reason for the Gers’ upturn in form? Summer signings upping their game.
Hamza Igamane's stellar Rangers form
Fair to say, Hamza Igamane is a man in form, scoring five goals across his last seven appearances, including a brace during the 4-1 demolition of Nice by the French Riviera, before breaking the deadlock against Spurs a fortnight later.
When the Moroccan arrived from AS FAR for a reported £2.5m this summer, very few had ever heard of him, and expectations were not sky-high when he failed to score in any of his first six appearances for the club, before breaking this duck during the 4-0 Europa League hammering of Steaua București.
Since, Igamane has not looked back, superseding Cyriel Dessers as the first-choice centre-forward, making his transfer fee look like a bargain and some excellent recruitment, considering he’d only ever plied his trade in the Botola – Morocco’s top-flight.
However, it’s another of Rangers’ summer signings, who joined the Gers on a Bosman, who could prove to be the best value for money edition of the bunce.
Rangers' star in the making
Connor Barron arrived on a free transfer from Aberdeen this summer, with a compensation fee yet to be agreed between the two clubs; the Dons turned down a reported settlement fee of £525,000, with former-Celtic striker Chris Sutton describing the drawn-out process as “strange”.
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Regardless, Rangers have acquired a terrific defensive midfielder, who was receiving praise very early into his career at Ibrox.
Following just the third match of the season, a 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden, John Walker, host of the Scots Abroad podcast, described the signing as a “no-brainer”, adding “he’s a bit of a fan favourite” already, with Barron appearing ready to “make that step up with his technical ability”.
Sofascore have rated Barron seven or above during three of Rangers’ six Europa League matches to date, while his average Scottish Premiership rating is 6.99, receiving a seven or higher during eight of 13 league fixtures he has started.
Meantime, only two players have accumulated more than Barron’s 18 tackles in the Europa League so far; they are Adam Markhiyev (RFS, 23) as well as Kevin Mac Allister (Union SG, 19), brother of Liverpool’s Alexis, (and yes he is named after the kid from Home Alone.)
These performances have led to Barron being rated as one of Rangers’ most valuable players by Transfermarkt, as detailed in the table below, with his value of €2.5m (£2m), level with the aforementioned Igamane.
Player
Transfermarkt value
Signed for fee
Nicolas Raskin
€6.5m
£1.5m
Mohamed Diomandé
€6m
£4.3m
John Souttar
€4.5m
Free
Nedim Bajrami
€4.5m
£3.5m
Rıdvan Yılmaz
€4.5m
£3.5m
Danilo
€4.5m
£5.5m
Cyriel Dessers
€4m
£4.5m
Dujon Sterling
€4m
Free
James Tavernier
€3m
£200,000
Jack Butland
€3m
Free
Rabbi Matondo
€3m
£2.5m
Connor Barron
€2.5m
Free
Hamza Igamane
€2.5m
£2.5m
Jefté
€2.5m
£680,000
Robin Pröpper
€2.5m
£1.5m
Thus, still only 22 years old, having made just 103 top-flight senior appearances to date, Barron is only likely to get better, making him an even more valuable asset and further adding to the sense that Rangers snapped up a bargain.
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