The midfield was the biggest difference in Rangers performance against Newcastle United with Nicolas Raskin and Ianis Hagi the main protagonists for a second half improvement.
In the Romanian international, Michael Beale has a player who is capable of playing in several positions but it may be that his new role becomes a regular occurrence.
Speaking after the game, the Rangers boss was asked specifically about Ianis Hagi and he gave an interesting insight to what he is looking for next season, as reported by The Rangers Review.
Rangers can get the best out of Ianis Hagi in new role
When the Rangers manager was questioned about the decision to drop Ianis Hagi into a deeper role, he said:
“Well, yeah. I think sometimes when we’re playing domestically, we get a lot of the ball and we don’t want our most technical players facing our goal.
“So they can come from deep.
“We’ve seen it with Todd Cantwell. Kieran Dowell’s got a fantastic passing range. Ianis has got the same thing.”
If there is one thing that the Rangers number seven lacks is pace, Ianis Hagi has many qualities but he will never be described as fast.
In midfield, as Beale says, Hagi, who cost Rangers £4m in 2020, can display his strongest traits.
He can pass off either foot and, more importantly, he can do it quickly.
Modern midfield battles are about beating pressure and the Rangers playmaker has the vision and ability to play his way out of trouble and get us up the park.
In an opponent’s half, the 24-year old can spot runners and break defences with a passing range that maybe only Steven Davis can match, and he won’t be available any time soon.
If the Light Blues are to play the brand of football that Michael Beale is looking for, Ianis Hagi as a number eight could play a pivotal role for Rangers this season, especially in domestic football against packed defences.
Rangers midfield is looking more dynamic and more forward thinking, we just need Ryan Jack and John Lundstram to read the memo that the others got too.
