Rangers News Rangers’ two transfer kingmakers sit in departures lounge as Ibrox chiefs wait for boarding call

 

Rangers’ two transfer kingmakers sit in departures lounge as Ibrox chiefs wait for boarding call

 

 

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Rangers’ two transfer kingmakers sit in departures lounge as Ibrox chiefs wait for boarding call

Mark Atkinson

By Mark Atkinson

Sports Editor

 

0

Published 22nd Aug 2024, 12:15 BST

 

Rangers need a player of Hagi’s ilk – but he and Cantwell holds keys to Clement’s rebuild

The next week is set to be a busy one at Rangers. Manager Philippe Clement is very keen to bring in more recruits to continue his radical overhaul of the club, but it is all dependent on one thing: offloading players

 

Rangers are trying to usher bodies out of the Ibrox departures lounge. Clement has admitted as much – there are a rump of well-paid men who are not in the Belgian’s short-term or even long-term plans. The problem that the head coach faces is that there is hardly a large queue forming to get these players on a plane out of Glasgow.

 

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The futures of James Tavernier, Rabbi Matondo and Cyriel Dessers have been widely speculated upon all summer. Trabzonspor failed with a bid for the Rangers captain and it has gone quiet on the Tavernier front now. According to reports, English Championship duo Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers are weighing up a move for Matondo, a Welsh winger who has featured regularly in the Rangers team yet doesn’t feel like a long-term Clement solution. Dessers regularly leads the line and has stated he is happy at Rangers, even amid interest from teams such as PAOK and Atalanta United.

 

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Ianis Hagi was at Hampden last week to watch Rangers take on Dynamo Kyiv.

Ianis Hagi was at Hampden last week to watch Rangers take on Dynamo Kyiv. | SNS Group

The man with the most intrigue heading into the final eight days of the transfer window is Ianis Hagi, the mercurial 25-year-old Romanian playmaker who has not kicked a ball in a Rangers shirt for more than a year. His last action came in a 2-1 League Cup win over Morton, before being farmed out on loan to Alaves. But now back at Ibrox, he is persona non grata, playing for the B team.

 

Those who watched Hagi play at the Euros this summer would have noted a player with undoubted ability. He can operate across the attacking midfield line, can spot a pass and is technically gifted. His performances for Romania, who made the last 16, ought to have piqued interest from clubs across Europe – and perhaps even Clement himself. After all, the Belgian does not have a veritable playmaker to choose from, with Tom Lawrence hardly setting the heather on fire in the No 10 role. Would Hagi be a better option?

 

We are unlikely to find out. Currently on 99 appearances for Rangers since his move from Fiorentina in 2020, there are reports his wage jumps up significantly should he hit the 100 mark. Whether those claims hold any credence or not, on paper Hagi is one of Rangers’ most sellable assets, a young internationalist entering the peak years of his career.

 

Rapid Bucharest are the latest team to have their name attributed to Hagi. Even his old club in Florence were linked over the summer. Hagi has a strong PR machine, not least in his father, famous former Romania legend Gheorghe. Surely between them all, they can find him a move, even if his wages are on the high side.

 

 

Todd

Cantwell has requested to leave Rangers.