Rangers midfielder Ianis Hagi was one of the first names through the door this summer and in the proceeding months since his permanent move, he’s proving exactly why.
Back in January 2020 life was very different but for a Romanian wonderkid bearing the oftentimes burdensome name of his legendary father, there was only one place he wanted to be before, during and after Covid-19 properly hit.
Something tells me that it was on that famous Ibrox night against Braga that Hagi fell in love with Rangers and from there all parties knew this was the place to take his game to the next level.
Ibrox baby, it’s just different.
Still only 22, there’s no doubt Hagi plays with the poise of someone years his senior, a by-product of being introduced into legendary father Gheorghe’s Viitorul Constanța team as a teenager.
But his progress even since those first months in Scotland is evident; the exceptionally friendly character of Hagi struggled to find somewhere he belonged in the European spotlight.
Rangers is certainly it and whilst he started the season with a real enthusiasm his form did take a dip but Hagi has been superbly managed by Steven Gerrard and co and now provides the management team with a real headache.
That right inside forward berth is his to lose and going on his performances it’s difficult to justify dropping the kid.
He’s been sensational, a responsible bright spark with vision and an added tenacity and workmanship which makes him not only a valuable player on the ball, but a disciplined one off it.
More than that, in the months since he made his move to Glasgow permanent Hagi has grown into the role of match winner.
On Boxing Day Hagi scored the only goal in a tight game against Hibs and repeated the feat with the only strike – a superb solo goal where he moved with purpose and struck with accuracy in Zander Clark’s bottom corner – against St. Johnstone.
It’s hard to say just how excited we should be getting about Ianis Hagi, but when you look at the physical and footballing progress in little over a year, expectation is certainly beginning to rise.
With Rangers reiterating their mid-level selling club status at the most recent AGM Hagi isn’t quite at the level of some others in terms of them reaching their optimum sell-on value.
But by the time he does, it’s going to make spending that £3m look like a masterstroke.
Here’s how Ianis Hagi and his teammates rated in the recent 1-0 win over St. Johnstone where he scored the only goal of the game.
