Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi insists son Ianis is set to agree a new deal at Rangers. The Ibrox playmaker is touted as the next big thing in his homeland as he follows in the footsteps of his father.
Gheorghe played for the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid with Romanian media keen to see his son hit the same heights. That has seen reports of the likes of interest from the Roma, Galatasaray, Lyon and Sevilla emerge in recent months.
Gheorghe has shut down talk of Ianis leaving the Premiership champions, insisting he is more likely to pen a new deal with Gio van Bronckhorst’s side.
The 23-year-old has clearly impressed the Dutchman since he took over from Steven Gerrard, with Hagi starting six of seven games before the winter break.After
The Light Blues secured the Romanian international on a permanent deal from Racing Genk for £3m last month, and his father is very confident that he’ll be a success at Ibrox:
“His manager believes in him and thinks he can make him one of the best players in the world. Steven Gerrard has lived through this before. He knows what to do with Ianis and I know he will make him a better player.
“He’s with the right club and I know he will get better every day. He will be a bigger player than me if he keeps working hard and learning.”
It is important to remember that Gheorghe had a stellar career himself, starring at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Galatasaray.
The Rangers playmaker, therefore, has a long way to go before he can even match his father’s achievements in the game, but it appears Gerrard is confident that the 21-year-old has the talent to go all the way.
Of course, part of that will be down to application and, as Gheorghe rightly points out, his son is in the perfect hands with Gerrard having gotten every ounce of talent out of himself during his illustrious playing career at Liverpool.
