Rangers forward Ianis Hagi speaks about future plans after ‘low period’ of his career
Rangers forward Ianis Hagi has suggested that he wants to try coaching in the future, not just in football, but in other sports as well.
The 24-year-old has recently returned from a long injury lay-off, and he recalls that phase as a “low period” in his career. During his rehabilitation period, he also saw “manager change” at Ibrox, with Michael Beale replacing Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
However, his immediate future lies with the Bears. He signed a long-term at the club that will keep him until 2026.
“The injury stalled things a bit and it was a very long process but I knew the belief they had in me,” said Hagi, as quoted by the Sunday Mail (page 68, 19 February).
“It was important, especially in a low period of my career and after a manager change. I’m getting quite good at Spanish now. I love basketball so I watched a lot of that and then there’s coaching.
“It’s something I’ve been growing into, with my father being a manager for a long time and just studying different books, watching different Netflix series about coaching.
“Not only football but coaching in different sports. I’ve been trying to understand the game from another angle. I see a future for myself coaching.”
Steady
The Romanian international is a fantastic player and he could become a key player under Beale going forward.
He has just returned from a long injury nightmare and will look to make up for the lost time. He played 45 minutes in Sunday’s Scottish Cup victory over Partick Thistle and could play some part in the Viaplay Cup against Celtic next Sunday.
At the same time, having been out of the club for a long time, he is rusty and the club should look to integrate him gradually. Probably, we will see the best from him next season after he completes a pre-season under Beale.
Hagi is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play in all three positions upfront. He has got pace and trickery, and an eye for goal.
Beale now has got a wealth of options in the attacking midfield areas, and the team will get even better when Hagi will start to play regularly.
Rangers signed Todd Cantwell in the January window who is likely to compete with Hagi for the first-team role. Then there’s Ryan Kent, Fashion Sakala, Malik Tillman, and Kemar Roofe as well.
In other Rangers news, the club are in line for a multi-million windfall from the Premier League after a £10m Auchenhowie milestone was reached.