Hagi 'won't get bigger club’ than Rangers as Rabbi Matondo set to clear the decks - Ibrox transfer bulletin
A top member of the Romania FA has told Ianis Hagi he won't get a bigger club than Rangers star as he was urged to stay in Glasgow long term.
Hagi found himself out in the cold at Ibrox for almost two seasons after a contract dispute, spending last year on loan at La Liga side Alaves with his time as a Ger looking as if it was over. However after he battled back from a serious knee injury he has now returned to be a key member of under-pressure manager Philippe Clement's team at Rangers.
Even when he was struggling for game time in Glasgow however he continued to be picked by Romania, and starred at Euro 2024 for his country. And their FA's technical director Mihai Stoichita has now advised countryman to stay at the Light Blues for as long as he can. Stoichita - who has managed Steaua Bucharest twice as well as Armenia and Kuwait said: "Ianis Hagi is playing for Rangers. Let him continue to play for Rangers because that's very good for him.
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"You can't keep at the same levels all the time - he had a dip and now he's back to top form. For Ianis, the most important thing is him playing every week and he's doing that at Rangers now. He played in the national team even when he wasn't playing for Rangers. In my opinion, he won't get a bigger club than Rangers. He is playing every week for an important team. It's perfect for him."
One player who doesn't look as if he has a future in Govan however is Rabbi Matondo, with the Welsh winger linked with a move to the continent. The former Man City youngster, who has spent a lengthy period side-lined and unavailable to Philippe Clement, has returned from his time on the treatment table in recent weeks but has found minutes hard to come by. And Matondo is now understood to be close to completing a deal to join a European side on loan, with interest also coming from the English Championship.
Meanwhile former Gers left-back Borna Barisic is set for a surprise move to Bosnian champions FK Sarajevo to link up with his former manager in Croatia. The Crotian defender has been told he can leave Turkish outfit Trabzonspor after playing just 355 minutes following his his summer move from Ibrox and is out of the first team picture under manager Senol Gunes.
And he's weighing up an offer from Sarajevo to revive his career there. They are managed by Zoran Zekic, who was Barisic's boss at Osijek before he left for Rangers in 2018. The 32-year-old ex-Croatia international quit Rangers in the summer after 236 appearances for the Ibrox side. He moved along with teammate John Lundstram to Trabzonspor.
However, the move didn't work out and he could be set for a return to the Balkans in Bosnia.
