‘It’s best’: Gem tipped to be worth £87m in a few years urged to stay at Rangers

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Glasgow Rangers on-loan ace Ianis Hagi has been urged to remain at Ibrox by Romania legend Ciprian Marica, in conversation with the Daily Record.

Hagi joined Rangers on a six-month loan at the end of the January transfer window from Belgian club Genk and the 21-year-old took no time at all in becoming an Ibrox fan favourite.

The Romania international has weighed in with an impressive three goals, plus two assists, from 12 Rangers games, including his superb brace in the Europa League last-32 first leg win over Braga.

Rangers have an option to make Hagi’s signing permanent at the end of the season and according to the Daily Record, he would set the Ibrox club back just £4.5million.

Former Stuttgart and Schalke striker Marica – who won 71 caps for Romania – believes that Hagi should stay in Scotland and continue to progress under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard.

“It would be good for Ianis Hagi to continue to play for Rangers,” he said. “For him, at this stage of his career, it’s more important for him to get games than a move to a top league.

“Lazio are a very good team and I don’t think it would do him any good to move to Italy and have to battle for a first team place and not play as often.

“He is still very young and is learning the game. It’s best he gets to do that in Scotland with his current coach.

“Ianis Hagi is always going to have the problem of being compared with his father. People are always going to think he can play for Real Madrid and Barcelona like his dad.

“But he is certainly a player with football intelligence. He has reached maturity on the pitch and has the quality to take the last step and complete it. And the best way to do that is to stay and learn with Rangers for now.”

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Things could hardly have gone any better so far for both Hagi and for Rangers, the youngster truly loving life at the famous club, which in turn has benefitted from his services.

As talented as Hagi is and as much promise as he’s shown, it’s important for him to be at the right club to truly prosper and be happy – his switch to Fiorentina didn’t work out, while this one seems to be working out very well.

And with Gheorghe Hagi – the player’s father and widely deemed Romania’s greatest ever footballer – describing Rangers as the “ideal team” for his son (Daily Record), you could hardly get a more ringing endorsement than that, on top of the other ones from the likes of Marica.

Besides, the way things are going, £4.5million would be a bargain for the Gers – and according to Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali, Hagi could soon be worth quite a bit more in just two years’ time.

Speaking to Romanian outlet Digisport, he said: “I think he will be a great European footballer in the future. For me, he will be worth €100million (around £87million) in just two years.”