RANGERS have not yet made a decision on whether or not to sign Ianis Hagi on a permanent deal once his loan contract expires – but sporting director Ross Wilson says that he and the coaching staff are delighted with what they have seen from the on-loan playmaker.

Hagi was recruited from Genk in the January transfer window until the end of the 2019/20 season and particularly caught the eye during Rangers’ dramatic 3-2 win over Braga at Ibrox in February, scoring twice as Steven Gerrard’s side roared back from a 2-0 deficit.

The Premiership club have an option to sign the 21-year-old for a predetermined fee, which has led to calls from supporters for Rangers to make the move a permanent one. Wilson says that no decision has been made one way or the other yet but reckons the son of Romanian legend Gheorghe has made the most of his stint in Govan so far.

“We’ve not made a decision yet,” Wilson said. “We are in regular contact with Ianis, as we are with all of the players. He made a fantastic impact and we’re really happy with him.

“He is on loan until the end of season 19/20, so whether that’s the end of May, the end of June or whenever that comes, Ianis will be here and minimally on loan until the end of that period. We have got an exclusive option on him that was agreed at the time. We have got a little bit of time before we need to take that.

“We have got a really good relationship with him, a really good relationship with his agent and his dad. That’s went really well and it’s been a very successful loan for us so far.

“I think he’s found a place at Rangers where he’s felt loved. He can feel the size of the club and he loves the intensity and the pressure of the crowd.

“He conducted that famous interview after the Braga game where he was so happy to be here. That’s the type of kid he is. He is a wonderfully positive boy, absolutely loves football. Steven Gerrard is fantastic to him as are all the other coaches. Everybody has got a really good relationship with him.

“It is a positive for us that any player has had such a positive time with us and they want to stay. We will see where that goes but generally speaking we’re really happy with Ianis.”

Glasgow Times:

As Rangers’ sporting director, much of Wilson’s time is spent on the recruitment side of the game. But rather than issuing commands over which players to attempt to sign, he is adamant that identifying players must be done with input from Steven Gerrard and his backroom team. A team approach, he stresses, is the best route to success.

“We have got a really clear way that we want to work,” Wilson said. “Whether it’s Steven, myself or the coaches we talk to, I think we have got a really clear identity about what we want to look like as a team.

“Ianis was somebody that made a big impression in matching what Steven and the coaches want. Clearly, all acquisitions will never be spot on and never all be right but the key for the scouting team is to get players that match the profiles that the manager sets up and match the expectations at this club.

“It’s really important to stress that what Rangers are looking for in the market is not my profile or my opinion of a player. That should be the same for all sporting directors wherever they work across the game. For example, I’m very rarely out looking at any players. That’s the job of the head of recruitment and the scouting team. Irrespective of what manager you’re working for, the clear idea is to identify players that meet the manager’s philosophy that we are working to.

“In one of my first press conferences I stressed that this is about working as a club and working collectively. It’s not about me coming in and saying, ‘I know you don’t like this player but I do so let’s have him’. It’s about everyone working towards the same thing and the profiles will be derived from Steven.

“One of Steven’s biggest strengths is that he is an outstanding communicator and he articulates that really well. That’s really important to me, that Steven and I’s relationship is strong and our way of working is really close together. I said when I came here that one of the reasons I had to deliberate before I joined was because I had such a strong relationship with Ralph Hasenhuttl at Southampton.

“We’re really close friends as well as colleagues and one of the big reasons for that is that we were really aligned in everything that we did. It would have been difficult for me to leave that manager behind to join one that I didn’t feel aligned with and Steven is outstanding at communicating exactly what he wants. It doesn’t mean that it will always be right from the scouts but being really clear about what we are looking from comes from Steven and the coaching staff.”