The level of churn at Glasgow Rangers in recent years can be best seen when looking at just the centre-forward ranks alone, with there having been so much change in that department in such a short space of time.
Indeed, looking back to the start of 2024/25, for instance, the Gers had three strikers to call upon, in the form of Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Hamza Igamane.
Following Danilo’s latest loan exit, none of that trio are at Ibrox in the present day, while the club have now signed four number nines over the last year, with a fifth potentially on his way.
Since Alfredo Morelos’ exit, the Light Blues simply haven’t been able to find a reliable, quality forward to lead the line, with that man Igamane arguably proving the best of the bunch.
Why Igamane remains Rangers’ best striker since Morelos
The succession planning in the wake of Morelos’ free transfer exit in 2023 hasn’t gone smoothly, the Glasgow giants notably burned by their pursuit of Sam Lammers, while the loan arrival of young Fabio Silva also failed to have the desired effect.
As for Danilo, well, the injury-hit Brazilian has scored just 16 goals in 76 games for the club to date, having joined Botafogo on an initial temporary deal this summer.
The polarising Cyriel Dessers did at least find the target more regularly, netting 51 in 116 games, but boy was he profligate, having squandered a staggering 47 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership across 2023/24 and 2024/25.
|
Selected Recent Rangers Strikers |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Goals |
|
Dessers |
116 |
51 |
|
Danilo |
76 |
16 |
|
Igamane |
49 |
16 |
|
Chermiti |
44 |
15 |
|
Miovski |
43 |
13 |
|
Lammers |
31 |
2 |
|
Fabio Silva |
25 |
6 |
|
Naderi |
16 |
5 |
|
Shankland |
6 |
1 |
Of the current crop, Bojan Miovski has largely been a bystander to proceedings over the last 12 months, while Ryan Naderi has scored only one league goal since January.
It hasn’t happened as yet for Lawrence Shankland either in the opening weeks of the season, with current number nine, Youssef Chermiti, sidelined with an ACL blow after netting 15 times last season, albeit while having actually only scored in eight games.
Igamane’s 16-goal haul from 2024/25 still makes for good reading, therefore, the fleet-footed Moroccan having been such a delight to watch, even if only briefly.
Signed for just £1.7m, he notably sparkled in the Europa League with four goals in just ten outings, with it somewhat of a shame that he had to leave on a sour note after his apparent refusal to play under Russell Martin.
Even so, his £10.4m sale to Lille marked astute business for the Gers, with there hopefully set to be more where that came from.
How Rangers could repeat their Igamane success
There’s no sense that a club the size of Rangers should merely be considered a stepping stone, with the club needing to get into a position of stability again, rather than enduring constant change in the playing squad.
And yet, there is also a reality regarding the footballing food chain, with the Gers wisely moving on players at the right time and for the appropriate fee, be it Calvin Bassey to Ajax in 2022, or Igamane to France in 2025.
Sometimes there is merely an acceptance that a player might go on to bigger and better things, with the same potentially set to be true of incoming striker, Kevin Kelsy.
As per The Athletic’s Tom Bogert, the Portland Timbers star is heading to Glasgow in order to undergo a medical, after the two clubs agreed a fee in the region of £9.5m for the 22-year-old.
The ‘final details’ still need to be resolved, but this eye-catching deal appears to be imminent, with Bogert noting that Kelsy should ‘score a ton of goals for Rangers’, before he is likely to ‘end up in the Premier League or elsewhere in Europe’.
The pathway appears to be there for another young marksman to follow in Igamane’s footsteps, with the Moroccan showcasing how quickly a rising star can blossom at Ibrox.
Kelsy may not be a silky, creative forward like Igamane, but there is plenty to like about what he offers, more in the mould of Chermiti as another towering, powerhouse of a striker, such is his physical frame and speed.
He’s a player who loves to attack the box and certainly knows where the goal is, having scored 19 goals in 63 games for his current side, ten of which have come in 2026.
That record does actually compare favourably to Igamane’s own return at former club AS FAR Rabat, the unknown sensation having hit 16 in 59 games in Morocco before heading to Scotland.
In Kelsy’s case, it has also been something of a left-field route to get to Ibrox, the Venezuelan starting out in his homeland, before ending up in the United States via a stint in Ukraine.
His time in Portland has been particularly fruitful, scoring nine MLS goals this year at a rate of one every 140 minutes, while boasting a 20% goal conversion rate, even while missing 12 ‘big chances’.
In Igamane’s sole full season in the Premier League, he did only miss six ‘big chances’, while scoring 12 goals, yet the £1.7m man enjoyed a similar rate of scoring of one every 166 minutes.
And so, while Kelsy may not be the same profile of player as Igamane, he could well prove to be the next young striking sensation in Glasgow. Watch this space.
