Rangers agreed to pay a reported £3m to sign Ianis Hagi from Genk in May following his brief loan spell with the club [STV] and the investment is already paying off.
The 21-year-old isn’t the finished article and he hasn’t hit top gear yet in terms of his performance levels.
Encouraging recent contributions from Jordan Jones and Brandon Barker ensure that he’s not even a guaranteed starter in Steven Gerrard’s team.
However, he brings subtlety and creativity that the Gers previously lacked and his numbers show that he’s making a big impact in the final third.
Hagi scored his first goal of the season against Hamilton at the end of August and since then, he’s turned provider for his teammates.
Remarkably, the Romania international has notched five assists in his last four league appearances, with two against Dundee United, and one against each of Hibernian, Motherwell and Ross County.
As a result, he’s gone from nothing to the top of the Premiership assists chart ahead of the much-heralded Celtic star, Ryan Christie, who currently has four.
Rangers’ full-backs have received plenty of praise so far this season and rightly so. James Tavernier is on an incredible run in front of goal, while Borna Barisic continues to create opportunities with his fine deliveries from the left flank.
However, Hagi’s presence helps to ensure that the Gers aren’t totally reliant on those two players.
The summer signing has excellent vision and technical ability and as he starts to convert his talent into results, the club’s investment is already paying off.
