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Hamza Igamane has been linked with a move to Premier League side Everton
Former Everton and Chelsea forward Pat Nevin admits he is unsure if Hamza Igamane is ready to make the jump up to the Premier League next season.
The in-form Rangers star recently fired his side to a memorable 3-2 victory away at Celtic by scoring in the dying minutes of the contest to end a five year winless streak at Parkhead. It marked the 22-year-old’s 14th strike in 37 matches since arriving as something of an unknown quantity from local side AS Far - and has contributed towards his first ever call up to represent World Cup semi-finalists Morocco at senior international level.
Igamane has been one of Rangers’ standout signings in recent windows, in a period where the club have not always got things right in terms of recruitment. He has produced big moments in the Europa League against the likes of Manchester United, Nice, FCSB as well as a hat-trick against Hibs in the Premiership and looks capable of having a huge future in the game. His breakout campaign has led to widespread speculation of Everton making a move for the forward but Nevin shares a more sceptical view towards the transfer.
Rangers striker Hamza Igamane would face an "off the scale" jump
Former Scotland international Pat Nevin has warned Everton urged his former club to be cautious over a deal for Igamane.The striker is thought to be worth significantly more than the estimated £1.2m Rangers spent last summer and has been touted as a potential replacement for the soon-to-be out-of-contract Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the Friekdin Group aim to make their first season in the new stadium one to remember.
Speaking with Casino Hawks, via Daily Record, Nevin explained: "Hamza Igamane’s numbers are alright, if you look through all his career, his numbers are good. It's a big call for Everton, David Moyes and the Everton group will look very closely at that because the jump's gigantic.
"It's a big enough jump for a midfielder, it's a big jump for a defender, a fullback. The jump for a centre forward or an attacker? It's just off the scale.You need to go there and break into a team that's going to have established players, which Everton to some degree have. But I think there's others that Everton will be looking at. They are slightly hamstrung by finance, but they're going to the new stadium, which will make a massive difference next season at Bramley Dock.”
Hamza Igamane could become a squad player at Everton
Although Pat Nevin believes Igamane is not ready to lead the line for the Toffees next term, he did admit that he can see clearly why Everton are in for the forward.
He explained: “Would he be an interesting one for a squad player? That might be tempting for Everton, because you look at the numbers, they're there. They're all right.But it's totally different. You have a look at how many players come over from German football. We rate the Bundesliga and they've got great scoring numbers like Timo Werner. They come over here and you go, what happened to him? And that's what the Premier League clubs think.
"That's what Everton need to consider, whether this next step is something he's capable of. But he's young, he's certainly an actual goalscorer. It would be interesting, but I don't think he'd be straight into the Everton first team."
Igamane is hoping to make his debut for Morocco in an upcoming qualifier against Niger before facing off against Tanzania on Tuesday.
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