Steven Thompson praises Hagi deal, urges Rangers to sign more ‘robust’ players this summer
Former Rangers player Steven Thompson has praised Rangers for completing a permanent deal for Ianis Hagi, but has also emphasised the need for the club to sign more “robust” players.
The Gers announced the 21-year-old’s arrival on Wednesday afternoon, confirming that he will join from Belgian outfit Genk for the 2020/21 campaign.
But while Thompson has expressed his support for the swoop, he has also argued that Ibrox chiefs must keep their rebuild going over the next few months with a variety of players.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, he said: “He [Hagi] is without doubt a very talented player, someone who can play a number of positions he will create opportunities for Rangers.
“But Rangers have a lot of quality ball players and players of that ilk. I would suggest they should be signing more robust players, players who have been over the course a wee bit as well in terms of knowing what is required to win a league championship.
“But there is no doubt [Hagi] is a good signing. He will add plenty to that squad.
“Rangers will know that should they want to stop ten in a row they are going to have to invest significantly in their playing squad and this may be the start of a number of players we might see arriving at Ibrox through the course of the season.”
Does Thompson have a point here?
Of course he does.
When the season was brought to an end because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we were 13 points behind Celtic at the top of the table.
One player isn’t going to help us overturn that deficit.
Hagi is a fantastic capture in our opinion, and he will no doubt help to bring another dimension to the Gers’ attacking play, as pointed out by Kris Boyd as far back as February.
But there needs to be a more substantial rebuild at Ibrox this summer, as Boyd has also pointed out more recently.
Bringing in players with the right attitude and desire to win will be absolutely vital to Gerrard’s men in their efforts to prevent Celtic from winning a 10th consecutive title next term.
“Robust” talents, as Thompson puts it, could be a crucial aspect of that recruitment drive.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox Exclusive: Alex Bruce praises Gers for wrapping up permanent Hagi deal.