Ianis Hagi‘s hands must be on his head a lot these days.
Scratching his noggin that despite publicly proclaiming his desire to represent Rangers and consistently performing for his country, he’s still out in the cold at Ibrox.
The Romania international has racked up 99 appearances for Rangers, but the century seems a lifetime away, as with that comes a reported pay rise the club seem reluctant to dish out.
Not for the first time this summer – and likely not the last – Hagi’s future in Glasgow was discussed on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
Michael Grant, The Times’ Scottish football correspondent, says that despite Hagi’s “profile”, he is “not the answer” to Rangers’ issues.
“Hagi’s had his moments, but he’s also had a lot of underwhelming spells,” he said.
“I don’t think he’s the answer to the issues they have, and far more importantly, I don’t think Philippe Clement thinks he’s the answer to the problems they have.
“I mean, it’s just another poorly handled issue by the club, isn’t it? He’s still around, they haven’t been able to move on.
“It ties into this kind of thing that Rangers just don’t seem to be able to get value for players they are trying to move on. In fact, they can’t move him on at all. So he’s going to loiter around the club as we don’t expect him to play in the first team again.”
Former Ibrox striker Rory Loy added: “The way Rangers have handled so much over the last few years has been shambolic.
“If you look at players at the peak of their potential transfer fees – Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent – these players moved on for nothing. Then you’ve got Hagi there. There’s so much mismanagement of players and business, it’s quite incredible.
“It’s highlighted even more and it comes into much sharper focus when your closest rivals across the city, Celtic, are so good at it.”
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