Ianis Hagi told to ‘leave Rangers immediately’ because he is ‘not wanted’
Ianis Hagi should “leave Rangers immediately” because he can’t be picked for the Romania squad if he isn’t playing, according to Danut Lupu.
The ex-Romania international and teammate of the Ibrox ace’s father Gheorghe said, as per the Daily Record (22 August) that Hagi, 24, had been a “key player” at Rangers until his injury but now he is “not wanted” so he should leave the club as soon as possible.
The winger had revealed his frustrations at the lack of game time he was getting from Michael Beale in the wake of his substitute appearance in the 2-1 over Greenock Morton on Saturday [Daily Record, 19 August].
The Gers boss then spoke about the situation on Monday ahead of the first leg of the Champions League play off against PSV Eindhoven, after not including Hagi in the squad, to admit the player could leave amid “honest” conversations with him [Football Scotland, 21 August].
Writing on the wall
It looks like the only thing that will keep Hagi at Ibrox now is a lack of willing takers who are ready to give Rangers a suitable fee.
If a player publicly states his unhappiness at how much he is playing, albeit while stating that he accepted the decision of his manager, that is one thing.
But for said manager to then respond by not including that player in the very next squad before telling the media that he may well leave then it appears to be as good as a done deal at the Light Blues’ end.
In some ways it would be a shame for Hagi’s Gers career to fizzle out in this way after more than a year out with injury.
But he is hardly the only member of the squad from the previous era who has been left behind, with a host of key men having left at the expiry of their contracts in the summer and Glen Kamara on the brink of a £5.5million move to Leeds United.
Beale is overhauling the squad and may not have had Hagi in his plans even if the injury hadn’t kept him out for so long, and it certainly looks like at this point that a move would be in the best interests of all parties.
With just Rabbi Matondo and Scott Wright left in the squad this season in terms of wide men otherwise that does leave Beale very short of width, so it would be no surprise to see him push to bring a new man in before the deadline.
In other Rangers news, interest is “real” in an Ibrox-linked defender who would fill one of the club’s final “priorities” before the deadline.