It would be perfectly understandable if the Rangers faithful were a little wary of getting too attached to Hamza Igamane.

The last time they allowed themselves to fall head over heels with a striker, they didn’t quite get what they expected from the separation settlement as things ended in a breakup. The strength of feeling between Alfredo Morelos and the punters was one of the reasons why the Ibrox board decided to stand firm in the face of multi-million-pound offers during Steven Gerrard’s tenure.

But that proved a costly misstep when the Colombian allowed his standards to slip, eventually waddling away from Ibrox on a free in the summer of 2023. It was a huge missed opportunity to cash in and clearly one the Rangers board will be loath to repeat as they assess the burgeoning potential of their weekend hat-trick hero. Igamane’s Easter Road treble means he has 10 goals in his last 11 outings and there are already rumours swirling of Premier League interest, with Everton said to be monitoring his progress.

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But his manager Philippe Clement is adamant the red-hot Moroccan prospect should be going nowhere this month. But even the Belgian boss can’t hide the fact if Igamane carries on like this, his Ibrox stay won’t last long.

Not when the financial picture at Ibrox now means anyone of value has a price. But in the meantime, Clement insists the fans shouldn’t worry about letting the 22-year-old into their hearts as he urged them to enjoy Igamane while he’s here.

“No, no, they need to be attached because that helps also the player, it gives him a lot of energy and confidence,” insisted the former Club Brugge and Monaco gaffer. “And we’re not the only club in the world who acts like that. It’s the world of football now and I had it a lot in my old clubs before.

“When somebody can make the next step, a higher step, and it’s beneficial for the club and the player, there’s no possibility to stop them. I saw Aurelien Tchouameni go from Monaco to Madrid, Benoit Badiashile from Monaco to Chelsea. Charles de Ketelaere went from Brugge to AC Milan and a lot of players at Genk left for bigger clubs. So it is part of the story for a player.

“I’ve done it also as a player. It’s normal in football. But it’s important to know when it’s the right moment for the club and the player. Those are interesting things. That’s going to be something for the future for Hamza, I’m confident about that. But not in the near future.”

Clement could do with a few more of his kids stepping up and making an impact like Igamane. His side dropped points for the third away game running on Sunday, with Clement admitting his side’s sagging fitness levels allowed Hibs back in to the 3-3 thriller after they roared two up inside 20 minutes.

The scintillating stuff they produced in the early stages at Easter Road slowed as legs tired and for Clement, it’s all the evidence he needs when responding to the critics of his recent rotation policy. He said: “It’s something that is necessary in seasons like now, with that amount of games.

“There’s been a lot of fuss about rotation. I explained it is a normal thing. It’s not only a normal thing here, look at the weekend, our rivals in this city, how many players did they change from the weekend before?

“And they spent £30million in the summer on players who are not all the time in the starting XI. So yes, it’s an important part. We don’t have the same cheque book in that way, so we have to work hard to make it better by getting talents in or to get players out of our academy, even better.”

Igamane is making his mark, and Clement has high hopes for two more kids. Defender Clinton Nsiala arrived at Ibrox four days before Igamane but the former AC Milan trainee is still waiting for his top-team breakthrough.

Bailey Rice, meanwhile, was once rated as a brighter talent than Motherwell starlet Lennon Miller but while the Fir Park kid is now the first name on Stuart Kettlewell’s team-sheet, his old Well sidekick has four senior sub appearances for Gers.

That’s all set to change with Rice about to join the Gers top team full-time. Addressing their development, Clement said: “They are progressing in a very positive way. They are both very young.

“Nsiala was the replacement for Johnly Yfeko who was training sometimes with the first team. It was also an opportunity, he was out of contract. The recruitment team, myself and the staff, saw the potential in Nsiala. But he only played academy football until now in Milan. So it’s a big step to be competitive with Rangers.

“But he’s taking really good steps the last couple of months. He’s more and more competitive in the squad with the other players, so that’s positive. Bailey Rice the same.

“He will be basically in the dressing room now after the game against Dundee. That is the plan, things to be discussed this week also about the squad and which people make the next step in their evolution at the club.

“In that way Robbie Fraser went out on loan. For him to develop himself. We could have kept him because we have a European list and we need to have an amount of Scottish players.

“So it was easy to say No.

“He’d also played several minutes and did good things, even in different positions. He’s someone with the right mentality in everything for the club.

“But, for the next six months, with the way Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte are playing, it would be difficult for him to get enough minutes to develop further. So that’s why we made the decision also that he could go on loan, although maybe one moment I’m going to regret it. Although in the long term it’s the best decision that way. Bailey’s taking the next step in his project with this club.”