‘Delighted’: Steven Gerrard raves about 22-year-old Rangers ace who’s loving Ibrox life

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Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has waxed lyrical about Ianis Hagi as he continues to warm to life at Ibrox and in Glasgow.

The 22-year-old joined Rangers on an initial six-month loan at the end of the January transfer window from Genk before joining permanently for a reported £3million.

To date, Hagi has made 28 competitive appearances for the Gers, registering four goals and 10 assists in light blue.

The playmaker was especially impressive in last week’s 2-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox, covering every blade of grass and providing a clever assist for Joe Aribo’s goal.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Lech Poznan at Ibrox, Gerrard was asked by Glasgow Live whether Hagi was finding his best form.

“Ianis is in a good place,” he replied. “He’s settled in Glasgow. His girlfriend is over now as well so he’s really coming into the place smiling, happy and enjoying his football.

“We wanted him in here full time in the summer because we could see that quality, that ability. He’s certainly someone who we feel can open the door.

“In the past we’ve had certain games and certain phases throughout our journey where we’ve found it hard to break teams down. He is very effective [at that].

“It’s my job to make sure that we try to keep him fresh and use him at the right time. He’s still young, he’s still developing, finding his body, but in terms of the talent we’re delighted to have him.”

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Hagi may have struggled with consistency this term – given his age, it’s pretty much par for the course – but his latest display was incredibly promising, with some fans saying it was best he’d played all season.

It’s great to hear of Hagi being in a good place, and coincidentally, so are Rangers, sitting pretty at the top of the Premiership and off to a great start in the Europa League too.