A former Romanian manager claims that Ianis Hagi may leave Rangers to go to Turkey after he has recovered to full strength.
Dumitru Dumitriu, who spoke to Golazo in Romania on October 24, maintained that the attacking midfielder was more than capable of playing for major European teams outside of the most prestigious ones, including Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Additionally, Hagi junior was supported to flourish in Turkey, where Romanian hero Gheorghe played for Galatasaray from 1996 to 2001, despite the pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Since suffering a major knee injury in January 2022, the 25-year-old has only made 15 appearances for Rangers. He spent the previous season on loan at Alaves before being placed in the B Team until this month due to an odd contract issue, and Dumitriu feels he needs a permanent departure.
When asked if Turkey might be an option, the 78-year-old said, “Yes, sure.” Ianis doesn’t need to prove anything anymore. He has to be trusted and at his strongest. He will thereafter be able to play for any European team.
“They play flawlessly at teams in, say, the second division, but not at the best in the world, like Manchester City or Real Madrid.
“He will manage, even though there will be higher expectations in Turkey because people will be comparing him to his father.”
Ianis Hagi backed for Rangers transfer exit to Turkey
Depending on who is asked, opinions on Hagi’s current level of skill vary greatly, and it is difficult to determine because he hasn’t played much in Scotland.
It was a perplexing decision to banish him from a first-team squad that appeared woefully underprepared at the beginning of the season, given his reasonable loan with Alaves and his strong performances with Romania at Euro 2024.
Although his subsequent red card has required any further actions to be postponed, Vaclav Cerny’s assist in the 2-0 victory against St. Johnstone on October 6th suggested that he may be a valuable asset under Philippe Clement now that the circus of the first few weeks of this season has been resolved.
Because of his father’s position, his profile is naturally exaggerated in Romania, and given the way he has been handled in recent months, it is honestly simple to understand why so many people there believe he should leave Ibrox.
However, the man has apparently made Rangers his top priority, turning down offers to leave in the summer [Sky Sports, 26 August] and forgoing a pay rise he would have been entitled to in order to rejoin [Daily Record, 1 October].
It has already been speculated that he will leave at the end of the season [PLZ Soccer, 7 October], but if he can make a comeback in Glasgow before then, all bets are off.
Although the 4-0 thumping of FCSB on October 24, which Hagi missed because he was not registered for the Europa League, was a significant improvement, Rangers hasn’t exactly been an attacking powerhouse this season, so it certainly looks like he has a chance to make an effect.
Given that Borna Barisic and John Lundstram left for Trabzonspor in the summer, James Tavernier was pursued by several parties [HITC, 12 September], and Ridvan Yilmaz has been incessantly linked to a comeback, Turkish interest appears to be almost certain if he does.
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