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Ibrox View: Gerrard must pounce on Euro club mistake to land major Rangers coup
RANGERS OPINION
Rangers may well have uncovered one of the bargains of the year in 21-year-old playmaker Ianis Hagi.
The youngster arrived on loan from Genk in January and has impressed ever since, but crucially, has an option-to-buy clause written into his contract.
That clause is understood to be for a fee of around £4.5 million, and on the basis of what we’ve seen, that could be an absolute steal for a player for his quality and potential.
That’s certainly the opinion of ex-Ibrox ace Thomas Buffel too, who claims that his parent club have made a grave error by setting his asking price so low.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “I think Genk were too quick to agree on a fee with Rangers to take Hagi permanently.
“Maybe they should have just done a loan then reviewed it afterwards. They don’t hold the cards now – it’s Rangers who can make the decision.
“That’s always a good position to be in. And it’s not always easy to find good, creative players who can score goals. Hagi has shown already that he can do that at Rangers.
“Sometimes you have to be more patient with young players – but Genk weren’t with him.”
It’s hard not to agree with him, to be honest.
Already, Hagi is averaging a 58.1% dribble completion rate in Scotland, 4% higher than Ryan Kent’s for the season, as per Wyscout.
He also registers 3.32 accurate crosses per game, 0.69 more than Kent, and has 0.31 matches per match, compared to the Englishman’s 0.16.
If the Gers were willing to fork out £7 million on the former Liverpool man, then surely £4.5 million is a doable figure.
Factor in his potential resale value, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City already said to be keen, as per the Scottish Sun, and this feels like a no-brainer.
Buffel is absolutely right, and Steven Gerrard must pounce to capitalise on Genk’s foolish mistake.
In other Rangers news, UEFA chief provides major Gers Europa League update.