Misfit Hagi will not play for Rangers again, says Ibrox boss Clement

PHILIPPE CLEMENT has made it clear to frozen-out Ianis Hagi that there is no way back for him at Rangers.

Hagi, training and playing with the B-team despite making four outings for Romania at Euro 2024, failed to land a move away from Scotland before the closure of the transfer window and had stated midweek that he was ‘willing and ready to fight for the club’.

However, Clement has insisted he told the 25-year-old some time ago that he had no future in his line-up and points out that the deadline-day arrival of £3.5million Nedim Bajrami from Italian side Sassuolo has only made the situation clearer.

‘We spoke about that months ago,’ said the Ibrox manager. ‘We were really open and honest with him (Hagi) and his agent that we don’t see him becoming the next No 10 for Rangers for the next couple of years, so to look out for other opportunities.

‘That story stays the same and, for sure, with Bajrami now in the building, you have this situation.’

The midfielder played four times for Romania at Euro 2024 but has been frozen out at Ibrox 

Bajrami arrived alongside Feyenoord defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo, who has signed a 12-month loan, but will not be available for today’s first Old Firm clash of the season at Celtic Park as a result of paperwork still to be completed.

Kasanwirjo could feature in the squad, but Clement warned: ‘He has only trained one time with the squad and he’s just new here, so those are things also to take into consideration.

‘Neraysho is a versatile defender, and the important thing for me also is that he’s used to playing in Feyenoord, in De Kuip, a stadium where you have a similar atmosphere to Ibrox, with fans who are demanding, who are on top of the players, who are on top of the pitch.

‘He can give us versatility to be one of the centre-backs, but also can play on right or left full-back. He gives more depth in the squad in that way.

‘With Nedim Bajrami we have somebody with experience at the highest levels, who can play in midfield, but also can play on the wings. So that helps the squad.’

Clement, who only has Ridvan Yilmaz on the injured list for today’s trip to Parkhead, believes the window — which failed to deliver the winger and midfielder he was chasing — served as a positive start to what he terms a massive rebuild.

‘It’s not only short term, it’s also long term,’ he said. ‘We had to do that as a club. We need to create value also for the future of this club, so that you don’t keep on going in the same cycle that was going on.

‘At the end of last season, six players left at the end of their contracts, with no added value to the club. The year before, we had several of those as well. I remember Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos leaving the club (for free), and they were worth a lot of money.

‘That’s a legacy from the past that we cannot change in one transfer window, but it created also a more difficult situation for everybody.

‘I believe that everybody together found a lot of young talent, a lot of exciting talent, and it’s now about working hard with them, to develop them, to make them better — and also keeping an experienced core that can guide them on and off the pitch in the dressing room.

‘You have really positive stories already, I think. If you see the level that Connor Barron or Jefte have been showing these last weeks, that’s already higher than everybody expected.’