After suffering a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge, Rangers have reportedly been handed further concern in the form of an opening bid for one of Russell Martin’s star men.
Martin "proud" despite Club Brugge defeat
There’s no denying that it’s been a disastrous start for Martin at Rangers. The former Southampton boss is yet to win in the Scottish Premiership and even watched on as his side made hard work of defeating Scottish League One side Alloa Athletic in the cup last weekend. So the arrival of Club Brugge couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Unlike Rangers as of late, the Belgian side were in a ruthless mood and raced into a shock 3-0 lead within the space of 20 disastrous first-half minutes. Ibrox began to empty and the thought of qualifying for this season’s Champions League proper became a mere fantasy for the Gers, who only managed to gain one goal back courtesy of Danilo.
Despite yet another evening to forget, however, Martin was “proud” of his side for how they responded to Club Brugge’s 20-minute thrashing. He told reporters: “That’s as hard as it will ever be for the players on the pitch. I’m proud of how they responded.
“We concede a crazy goal and don’t respond anywhere near well enough. Then we concede out of anxiety and make decisions based on desperation. The game plan went out the window. When you’re 2-0 down after seven minutes, tactics don’t come into it. It’s not about style of play it’s about the reaction and we didn’t react well.”
Meanwhile, with one leg out of the Champions League, the Gers could reportedly be in for an almighty blow on the transfer front to only add to their recent woes.
Lille submit fresh Igamane offer
According to Rangers Review, LOSC Lille have now submitted a fresh loan offer to sign Hamza Igamane, only for that to be laughed off by the 49ers who have set their price-tag at a hefty £15m to sell the forward. Whether the French side now opt to get anywhere near that valuation before the end of the month remains to be seen.
The 49ers’ stance will come as a major relief to Martin, who simply cannot afford to lose a player of Igamane’s quality at this stage of the transfer window. The talented forward is yet to start a game under the new manager as he works his way back to full fitness after a disrupted pre-season, but Rangers will be hoping to see their star man become a much-needed difference-maker sooner rather than later.
A player who was described as “superb” by scout Jacek Kulig last season, Igamane has all the tools to become the most important player of Martin’s tenure and Rangers simply must avoid his departure at all costs this summer.