Barry Ferguson admits Philippe Clement has ‘disappointed’ him due to the situation of one Rangers player at the moment.
Clement has been rebuilding his Rangers first-team squad over the summer alongside Nils Koppen and has so far made nine new signings.
Most of the new recruits are younger players and total an average age of just 23 years old. On the flip side, the Belgian has allowed a vast amount of experience to exit the building.
Those include the five released at the end of their contracts in June as well as the likes of Connor Goldson who departed for Aris Limassol after six years in Govan.
And it seems Clement is keen for even more experience to leave Ibrox and make room for his own additions as the transfer market clock ticks down.
It’s well documented that Todd Cantwell wishes to leave on his own right but Clement has made it clear that Romanian midfielder Ianis Hagi is not part of his plans going forward this season.
Ferguson thinks Rangers were crying out for a player of Hagi’s creativity in the soul-destroying 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday night as his old side crashed out of the Champions League.
And all in all, the former Ibrox skipper has been left ‘disappointed’ with how the Hagi situation over the last few weeks has been handled because he feels the 25-year-old – who scored a hat-trick for Rangers B on Saturday – can still offer something to the team.
Ferguson laments Ianis Hagi scenario
Barry Ferguson was speaking on The Go Radio Football Show and said live on air: “I don’t like what I’m seeing that Hagi could go for virtually nothing, I don’t know if he’s got two or three years left on his contract.
“I seen him playing at the Euros for Romania and I liked what I seen! I thought maybe he could have a fresh start coming back (to Rangers) and he could be a big player.
“Listen, he suffered a serious injury then went away out on loan and I thought, ‘maybe this is like getting a new player back’.
“But the manager (Philippe Clement) maybe doesn’t see him as part of the plans which disappoints me because I think Hagi has got something about him.”
Clement must make Hagi U-turn
Clement made it clear before the first leg of the Dynamo Kyiv tie that the plan was to sell Hagi this summer despite the talent he possesses.
Rangers lack creativity with the absence of Cantwell, who has signalled his intention to depart the club for a fresh challenge.
But Hagi’s situation is different. He is ploughing away with the B-team at the moment and performing to a high standard, suggesting there is zero issues with his attitude despite being bombed from the first-team.
Clement needs to make a U-turn on the Hagi decision and realise for the greater good of his team going forward, he could be doing with someone of Hagi’s ilk.
The majority of Rangers fans would also like to see Hagi reintegrated back into the first-team plans so Ferguson is not the only one lamenting the situation regarding the playmaker at the moment.
