Sport
Rangers’ £3m man labelled ‘one of the disappointments’ of 2023/24
loanee struggling to make his mark in La Liga with Deportivo Alaves.
The difference in Ianis Hagi’s influence for the Romanian national team, and at club level with Alaves, could hardly be more stark.
Only a few months ago, it was he who fired Romania into this summer’s European Championships with a fine finish against Israel. In fact, across his last four appearances for the Tricolorii, Hagi has four goal contributions (two goals, two assists).
That is comfortably more than he’s managed in La Liga, with only a single assist to show for his 16 appearances. Having played fewer than 20 of the last 630 available minutes, meanwhile, a player who arrived amid lofty expectations from Scottish giants Rangers looks destined to depart the Mendizorroza via the back door.
His spell in Spain proving to be less transformative and more of a toil for a man who fell down htethepecking order at Ibrox following a serious knee injury.
Rangers loanee strugging in La Liga
“Regarding Hagi, the truth is that he is being one of the disappointments of the season,” local reporter Inaki Inigo writes on the Noticias de Alava website.
“He came to Mendizorroza to make a difference, with very good comments from Glasgow. But, so far, he has not managed to adapt to the demands of La Liga.”
That alone comes as a surprise.
What Hagi lacks in speed, he more than possess in technical ability. The slower pace of Spanish football was supposed to benefit a player who joined Rangers in a £3 million deal from Genk. But not so.
Hagi’s tendency to drift through games – ethereal and ineffective – makes it unlikely in the extreme that Alaves will look to retain his services beyond the summer.
“Although no one doubts his quality with the ball at his feet, technique is not everything (required) to shine at the highest level,” Inigo adds.
“He has gone completely unnoticed in the vast majority of his performances.”
Philippe Clement has decision to make over Ianis Hagi
Hagi still has two years left on his Rangers contract.
There is a chance that Philippe Clement could breath fresh life into his Ibrox career. He’s done exactly that the likes of Todd Cantwell, Ridvan Yilmaz and Cyriel Dessers. But the Rangers decision makers could also be forgiven for feeling that they are fighting a losing battle with a player who is in danger of losing two seasons of his career to injury and poor performance.
Hagi’s struggles, meanwhile, are in stark contrast to Sam Lammers’ impact at Utrecht. The Dutchman is playing arguably his best football in five years back in the Eredivisie.
