Rangers must sell Ibrox star who was “one of the best talents in Europe”

Rangers’ bonkers form continues. Last weekend, the Gers fought back from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at , with Tom Lawrence’s long-range laser equalising nine minutes from time, before Cyriel Dessers snatched victory right at the death for Barry Ferguson’s side.

So, since Barry Ferguson took over as interim manager, the Gers have lost at home to Motherwell, ousted Fenerbahce on penalties in the Europa League and claimed victories on the road at Kilmarnock, Celtic and now Dundee, these three fixtures producing a whopping 18 goals.

Next up in the Premiership, the Gers face third-placed Hibs and then Aberdeen, who are fourth, at Pittodrie, with the small matter of a Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Club on the agenda too; the Basque side visit Ibrox next Thursday.

Who knows what to expect from these four matches? Well, goals probably.

What are the 49ers’ summer plans for Rangers?

2025 is set to be a huge year of change for Rangers, starting with the fact manager Philippe Clement was sacked back in February after 86 matches in charge.

Meantime, the club is also subject to a takeover, with Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises, set to become the club’s majority shareholder, a deal that is reportedly currently still being finalised.

His first task, as alluded to, will be to appoint a new permanent manager, with Steven Gerrard, Sean Dyche, Kevin Muscat, Liam Rosenior, Kjetil Knutsen, Marco Rose and many others reportedly in the fray.

Well, whoever they choose to appoint, they’ll want to do so quickly, given that next season starts early for the Light Blues, kicking off with the first leg of a crucial Champions League qualifying tie on 22 or 23 July.

Meantime, the squad is likely to undergo a major rebuild, and one fans’ favourite in particular appears highly-likely to depart.

Which players could leave Ibrox in the summer

Three permanently contracted players could be on their way out of the Glasgow club this summer, notably Tom Lawrence and Leon Balogun, while it’s unlikely attacking hero Vaclav Cerny will be back next season, largely due to his price tag after some cracking form.

Another who finds himself out of contract in June is Ianis Hagi, set to leave the club as a free agent this summer.

It’s fair to say the Romanian’s Rangers career has had its ups and downs, scoring a spectacular brace shortly after arriving against Braga in the Europa League, on a night the Gers fought back from 2-0 down to win, sparking wild celebrations at Ibrox.

When he signed from Genk in January 2020, then-manager Steven Gerrard labeled him “one of the best talents in Europe” but it hasn’t quite happened for him in Light Blue.

Indeed, despite being at the club for over five years now, Hagi has made just 125 appearances for the club, largely due to the fact that he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament against Stirling Albion in January 2022, spending the next 372 days on the sidelines.

Then, after not being in Michael Beale’s plans, the Romanian spent last season on loan at Deportivo Alavés in Spain before being reintegrated into the first-team squad this season, albeit he’s lost his regular starting spot since Ferguson took over from Clement.

As the table outlines, Hagi has not been a regular in the Rangers side since that aforementioned knee injury in January 2022, until recently, albeit he hasn’t been especially productive in front of goal since the title-winning campaign of 2020/21.

As a result, his Transfermarkt value has plummeted to £1.69m, having been as high as £6m at one stage, significantly lower than the reported £4.5m paid to secure his services in the first place.

Thus, given his injury record, Rangers should sadly release Hagi in the summer as part of their squad rebuild.

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