Philippe Clement claims that Ianis Hagi’s “contract issue” being resolved is why he’s back in the Rangers first team fold – just a month after the Belgian claimed it was for football reasons.
The Romanian was told he was free to find a new club over the summer and Record Sport exclusively revealed that a contract clause entitled him to wage hike after making 100 appearances for the Light Blues. He’s been sat on 99 for over a year and looked set to depart Ibrox as Clement tried to ship out some of his higher earners to make space on the wage bill for new signings.
Hagi dug his heels in though, determined to force his way back into the reckoning despite being banished to train and play with the B team. After some impressive second string performances, fans were clamouring for Clement and the club to reconsider and put Hagi to use, with the player saying he was happy to negotiate any pay increase due that might have been further limited his prospects of playing.
Clement now says an agreement has been reached and that Hagi is back in from the cold. “Ianis Hagi had a contract issue before I joined which is now resolved so he is back with the squad training again,” he said. “We want to get him to his best level so I am glad this situation is now fixed.”
However, the most recent explanation is at odds with Clement’s previous explanations for Hagi’s absence, which included the signing of Nedim Bajrami, after which the Belgian made it clear that there was no way back for Hagi.
Speaking on August 31, Clement said: “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.”
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