Ianis Hagi would have secured a move to ‘a much bigger team’ had the Romania international not suffered such a serious injury during his time at Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
That is the view of Iosif Rotariu, the one-time Romania midfielder speaking to Sport after Ianis Hagi fired the Tricolorii to Euro 2024 with a well-taken winner against Israel this month.
Slowly but slowly, game by game, the Deportivo Alaves loanee is recapturing the form that made him one of Rangers’ key players not so long ago. The £3 million signing from Genk putting that traumatic knee injury behind him and making up for lost time.
Ianis Hagi’s Rangers revival underway
Hagi moved to Spain on a temporary basis in the summer in an attempt to jump-start his stalling career. The engine now purring into life once again.
Rotariu, however, believes that – if he hadn’t been forced to spend a year on the sidelines – the Turkish-born 25-year-old would have cut ties with Rangers permanently a while ago.
“Ianis Hagi already has a reputation,” Rotariu argues. “Had he not been injured in Glasgow, he would certainly have been the number one in the national team. He has a lot of quality, and would have left Rangers for a much bigger team.
“For Ianis Hagi, I would think to see him in the future (join a major European club). The others (his Romania team-mates) have a limit they cannot cross.”
Aston Villa came close
Rangers supporters will obviously take umbridge at Rotariu’s use of the term ‘bigger team’. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be ‘a richer team’. An Aston Villa or a Roma for instance. Two clubs with pockets far deeper than Rangers. And two clubs who were linked with Hagi before his injury troubles began.
According to reports from Romania, the stylish attacking midfielder had verbally agreed a move to Aston Villa around two years ago.
Hagi should return to Ibrox next summer, potentially hoping to earn a place in Philippe Clement’s plans. Failing that, Rangers could look to cash in, a couple of eye-catching outings at Euro 2024 likely to see Hagi’s market value rise exponentially.
