Rangers do not have a recall option on the loan of Ianis Hagi and will need to strike a deal with Alaves if they want to bring him back this January.
The Romanian playmaker, 25, is currently out on loan with the La Liga side until the end of the season with there no option-to-buy on the deal with Rangers.
Loaned out when Michael Beale was in charge at Ibrox, some thought that incoming Belgian manager Philippe Clement might look to recall Ianis Hagi in his first transfer window.
This was a conversation which intensified when leading Rangers fan media Heart & Hand suggested that there was an option in the Romanian’s Alaves contract.
It’s important to stress that the outlet simply said “we can, would be up to boss” when asked if the club could get Hagi back in January.
No loan clause in Ianis Hagi Alaves deal
With Rangers now almost a week-and-a-half into January, there has been little in the way of conversation surrounding Ianis Hagi cutting his loan with Alaves short.
Now, Football Scotland claim this is because there is no January return clause inserted into the loan deal with Rangers having to negotiate with Alaves if they want the midfielder to return.
Mid-season loan return clauses are commonplace in football – as we’ve seen with Rangers-linked Liverpool left-back Owen Beck – but the report suggests one hasn’t been inserted here.
Ianis Hagi initially engineered the loan move out of Ibrox because of a lack of assurances over playing time as he recovered from a devastating cruciate ligament injury.
No suggestion Rangers want return
We should note that whilst the conversation rages around Ianis Hagi and a potential Rangers return, there have been no suggestions inside Ibrox that this is going to happen.
In fact, Philippe Clement stayed true to form by refusing to comment on the situation when pressed by a reporter in the Turkish media.
The attacking midfielder too has expressed his happiness turning out in Spain and the situation certainly raises a question over what happens with Hagi when he returns to the squad this summer.
Whilst he was recovering from that devastating knee injury the ex-KRC Genk star signed a new contract at Ibrox last season which ties him to the club until 2026.
