Football may well have stopped but the transfer rumours have not. The latest player linked to Lazio is Glasgow Rangers’ on-loan midfielder Ianis Hagi – and the move has been endorsed by his national team assistant coach, Nicolae Dică.
Dică – a man who himself featured 32 times for Romania between 2003 and 2010 – gave an interview to his native outlet, DigiSport and he gave his approval of any potential move, describing Hagi as ‘perfect’ for the system.
For him, the most important thing is to play. You saw that he went to Belgium and did not play, and in Scotland you saw that he played match by match.
Dică was perhaps slightly critical of Steven Gerrard’s use of the highly-rated youngster, referencing the ex-Liverpool captain’s insistence to use him on the right-hand side of a 4-3-3 formation.
In the central position, he would have greater freedom. I played a lot in that position as well. In Piteşti I played a lot on the left and right sides, and at Steaua, I started playing in the central area.
Hagi – son of football legend, Gheorghe – joined Rangers in January of this year on a temporary basis and has scored three times for last season’s Scottish Premiership runners-up.
Fans of Serie A may recall a brief spell in the league, the then 18-year-old played twice for Fiorentina between 2016 and 2018, featuring primarily for their Primavera side in between two successful stints at Viitorul Constanța in his homeland.
Turkey-born Hagi is set to return to parent club KRC Genk, with his immediate future uncertain due to the ongoing global pandemic, which is, at the time of writing, leaving the outcome of the Scottish Premiership uncertain, with the Belgian Jupiler League already decided.
The 21-year-old has vast experience for a player his age. 125 senior appearances, in addition to ten caps for his country, is testament to his obvious talent. However, is that talent enough to convince the club to make a move?
