Michael Beale has acknowledged that he will need to strengthen in midfield, however, he is also fully aware of the talent in his squad that he hasn’t yet been able to call upon.
Tom Lawrence and Ianis Hagi, in particular, have been a miss with creativity from central locations a major issue in recent months, hopefully though, both players could be near to a return.
Speaking to the Glasgow TImes, Hagi Snr, Gheorghe, has pleaded for patience despite his son being back on the training pitch:
“I was recently in Scotland to see Ianis and he still has work to do to regain full fitness.
“It is not easy to return to the form he had before his injury after a year’s break.
“But he’s ambitious and knows this. He’ll make it back soon and he will eventually return to his best.
“I am very proud of all my children. In my opinion, it’s the greatest satisfaction of parents to see all of their children working at jobs they love.
“It means I can sleep easily at night. I taught them all they had to work and not rely on the family and they have all created a successful career in their own right.”
The “like a new signing” phrase has never been more apt than when it comes to Hagi and Lawrence such is their quality and what they will bring to the squad.
What makes their return even more exciting is that Beale seems intent on playing with two attacking midfielders and three forwards so there is plenty of opportunity for them to play together and to give Malik Tillman a rest as well, keeping him sharper.
Studies have shown that it can take as long as the rehabilitation period to recover fully from ACL surgery so Hagi Snr is right in that we should temper expectations, it will be hard not to get excited when Hagi’s name is back in the squad though given the moments he has provided for us already in his relatively short Rangers career.