Rangers head coach Russell Martin believes Hamza Igamane “won’t be our player anymore” after the striker reportedly refused to play against St Mirren.
The 22-year-old has been linked with French club Lille throughout the summer, and after a bid was rejected last week, the Morocco international refused to come off the bench in the 1-1 draw in Paisley.
“We all expect that to come to a close very soon and he won’t be our player anymore,” Martin said on the eve of Rangers’ Champions League play-off tie with Club Brugge.
“[It’s] not really [disruptive]. I haven’t seen him. He had a scan yesterday and got assessed. And then, obviously, stuff’s happening today, so he wasn’t in. So, it hasn’t been disruptive moving forward at all.
“He’s got what he wanted. 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.”
Igamane reportedly told Martin he was injured on Sunday. Asked whether his scan revealed an injury, Martin added: “I expect him to pass his medical.”
However, the Rangers head coach was quick to add that he did not blame the Moroccan for the current situation.
“It’s not a surprise to me, and it’s not the player’s fault,” he said. “It’s really not. It’s really difficult for a young man, that doesn’t speak the language, that’s being told, ‘don’t worry, your future’s going to be elsewhere’.
“And then I’m asking him to be all in and do this and this is what we need from you and all that stuff. It’s so difficult. I don’t take it personally.”
