Director rules out signing £3m Rangers man and says he belongs in major Euro league

It is not exactly uncommon for managers and directors to refuse to speak out about their interest in players contracted to another club.

 

But when it comes to a few exit-linked members of this Rangers squad, coy, guarded responses have been in pretty short supply.

Last week, Blackburn Rovers coach John Eustace admitted that Rabbi Matondo was one of the wingers under consideration by the Championship outfit.

 

Five days on, Eustace opened up on Blackburn’s interest in Todd Cantwell, describing the Rangers misfit as a ‘very good player’ while talks between the two clubs continue to progress.

 

In the case of Ianis Hagi, meanwhile, Rapid Bucharest certainly were not shy in coming forward either.

Various Rapid bosses – from their shareholders to their head coach – appear keen to tell anyone who will listen just how keen they are to offer the Romania international a return home.

Rangers ready to sell Ianis Hagi and Todd Cantwell

Hagi, like Cantwell, has been exiled from the Rangers’ first team.

After struggling to recover from a serious knee injury, after a poor loan spell in La Liga and having lost his number seven shirt to Oscar Cortes, Hagi is a man stuck in limbo.

 

One club who will not be making a move for the Turkey-born playmaker, however, is FCSB.

 

The side formerly known as Steaua Bucharest have ruled out joining Romanian rivals Rapid Bucharest in pursuit, sporting director Mihai Stoica telling Prima Sport that Hagi is a footballer who deserves the chance to showcase his talents at a far higher level.

 

“It is not honourable for Ianis Hagi for me to discuss him. He is a player who must play in the top five championships in Europe,” Stoica explains.

FCSB won the league last season. They finished nine points ahead of runners-up Rapid Bucharest.

 

Rapid, then, are keen to make a splash in the market in an attempt to reduce the gap between themselves and the champions.

 

Shareholder Dan Sucu admits that Hagi is a player Rapid ‘really want’.

 

“There were discussions with absolutely everyone for the transfer of Ianis Hagi to Rapid,” Victor Angelescu, another of the club’s decision makers, tells Digi Sport. “It’s normal that we want Ianis Hagi. He’s one of the best players who would come to Romania.