Ianis Hagi will play for the Rangers B Team again after being picked to the starting XI for the Glasgow Cup match against Partick Thistle
On November 5, the club’s B & Academy X account confirmed the lineup, with the Romanian joining Clinton Nsiala, Leon King, and Bailey Rice.
Hagi, 25, was a regular for the reserves earlier this season despite being shut out of Philippe Clement’s senior squad, but a contract dispute was addressed last season, bringing him back into the fold.
He was sent off in his first Light Blues first-team game in over a year in the 2-0 win against St Johnstone on October 6, but returned to feature off the bench
Philippe Clement brought the Romanian ace back in at Rangers.
Hagi will most likely play for the B Team again to help him regain fitness following his untimely suspension from the main team.
However, given his late appearance as a substitute at Pittodrie in the previous Scottish Premiership encounter, fans of the former Alaves loanee may be concerned that he is the only senior first-team member involved.
And given how odd his seclusion was during preseason and the first two months of a tough season, it’s difficult to say anything definitively about the attacking midfielder’s management at Ibrox.
Nsiala, King, Rice, Cole McKinnon, and Robbie Fraser all have first-team experience with the Gers and are in the XI, but Hagi stands out given the backdrop of his performance so far.
He remained on the bench at Hampden Park on November 3rd, as Clement’s side recovered from behind to defeat Motherwell 2-1 and advance to the League Cup final against Celtic.
And given how poorly other players have recently done, it would be unusual for Hagi to fall out of favour.
He worked tirelessly for the B Team for weeks earlier this year, much to the surprise of many who were watching Scott Wright struggle to make an impression, and Todd Cantwell was also absent after requesting to depart.
It appears that Hagi had to forego the pay increase he would have been entitled to in order to re-enter [Daily Record, 1 October], with Clement quickly changing his tune from insisting there was no way back [Daily Mail, 31 August] to praising the Romanian as if he were a new signing [Sky Sports, 2 October].
An exit at the end of the season was projected all along [PLZ Soccer, 7 October], but after a couple of substitute appearances, he is back where he started tonight.
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