Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was understandably delighted with new signing Ianis Hagi and raved about him after his late winner against Hibernian on Wednesday evening.
The Romanian arrived late in the day in the January window and made his first start in the Scottish Premiership against the Edinburgh outfit in midweek – having exactly the impact he was brought in for.
The son of legendary former player Gheorghe found the back of the net six minutes from time at Ibrox to send the Rangers fans wild and secure a 2-1 victory, on a night where winning was important to keep the club in the title race.
The Gers were forced to come from behind in the contest, but showed all their quality and character to do just that.
After the game, Gerrard was delighted with his new Rangers recruit and praised the January signing for his immediate impact.
“His second half performance deserved to win the match,” the Evening Standard quotes the Gers boss as saying.
“Ianis is a top talent … in the first half he was getting used to the game in Scotland, people knocking him about. In the second half he was much stronger.”
“It was an exquisite finish … him having the character, the personality and the guts to receive the ball in any situation … he makes the game look really easy.
“He’ll deserve all the headlines.”
Hagi is at Rangers on a six-month loan deal from Belgian outfit Genk and arrived on transfer deadline day, but took no time to acclimatise, hitting the ground running with an important moment on his full debut for the club.
Gers fans will be hoping that was the start of a special period for the Romanian at Ibrox, as they look to compete strongly in three competitions between now and the end of the season.
Rangers are right in the Scottish Premiership title race, as well as still in the Scottish Cup, and their Europa League campaign continues later this month.
Hagi bolsters an already impressive Gers midfield and will give Gerrard another option in the centre of the park.
Rangers are in cup action this weekend and take on Hamilton Academicals in the fifth round on Saturday.
