Hamza Igamane leaves Rangers to join Lille days after refusing to play

Rangers have confirmed the departure of Hamza Igamane to French side Lille, days after the striker refused to come off the bench against St Mirren.

Igamane joined Rangers from AS FAR last July, signing a five-year deal with the Ibrox club. After a successful first season in Scotland, he has been linked with a move since the start of the transfer window and Rangers have now agreed his departure.

A brief statement on the club website read: “Rangers can confirm Hamza Igamane has joined Lille OSC for an undisclosed fee.

“The Moroccan international netted 16 times during his one season at Ibrox. He leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Rangers.”

The 22-year-old missed early games of the season with injury and had only been used occasionally as a substitute under new head coach Russell Martin, with the Rangers boss having suggested that he was one of a number of players to be affected by uncertainty about his future.

During Rangers’ 1-1 draw at St Mirren on Sunday, Martin had asked Igamane to prepare to come on as a substitute but said the player told him he was injured and wouldn’t play.

The head coach later confirmed interest in the player and said he expected him to leave the club in the coming days and that he fully expected him to pass a medical.

“He’s got what he wanted,” Martin said. “Well, he looks likely to get what he wanted to play somewhere else, and it means we’ve got some of the money that we wanted for him.”