When Ianis Hagi arrived in the January transfer window it was seen as something of a coup and despite the team as a whole suffering a drop in form, the 21-year old has shown flashes of his playmaking and game winning potential.
Rangers have been given a boost by Romanian managerial legend, Victor Piturca, wh0 has backed Hagi to improve under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard if he stays at Ibrox beyond his initial loan spell in a Daily Record article.
When asked about the recent speculation linking the youngster with a move to Serie A, Piturca said:
“I expected Ianis to take a huge step forward when he went to Belgium, but unfortunately this did not happen. He was loaned to Rangers, a club that I think is right for him.
“Let’s hope the people in Glasgow will be satisfied with him and buy him permanently because it would be a disaster for him if he had to return to Genk.
“I believe he is happy at Rangers because he has a manager who trusts him and believes in him. He is absolutely full of quality.
“The only thing he lacks is physical strength, but playing for a club like Rangers in the Scottish league will help him.
“I am sure he will stay at Rangers. I hope he does and I also hope they know what they have got with him.
“The important thing is that he is being talked about across Europe and there is a great deal of interest in him. His development at Rangers have been watched by a lot of clubs.”
Hagi appears to be happy in Glasgow and with influential people like Piturca, his father Gheorghe and his agent urging him to stay with the Ibrox club all that remains to be sorted is the transfer fee.
Just as Rangers looked to have secured an outstanding piece of business by inserting the exclusive option to buy set at around £4million, the coronavirus pandemic has hit football finances around the world, whether or not a deal can still be structured remains to be seen.
Gerrard has been happy with his January acquisition and could well be using the extra downtime to analyse how to get the best out of the player who almost single handedly dragged the Gers to the last 16 in the Europa League with two stunning displays against Braga.
Fans of the Light Blues will be hoping that they haven’t seen the last of Hagi with, as yet, no plans for Rangers to return to action any time soon either domestically or in the Europa League.