Rangers close to completing permanent deal for Hagi from Genk

Rangers are close to completing a move to make their loan of Ianis Hagi from Genk permanent due to a clause in their loan arrangement to buy him for £4.5 million.

This comes after both Real Madrid and Lazio were linked with the 21-year-old this month after he caught the eye in his 12 displays at Ibrox Stadium.

Rangers have been progressing the paperwork in the break in play to secure the player who is highly regarded by Steven Gerrard and his coaching staff. The youngster already has 10 caps for his national team and he fits the vision of the manager to mould his Scottish Premier League side around young talent.

Still, the £4.5m fee represents a big outlay for the Glasgow club and it will be in the top 10 biggest fees paid by Rangers in the club's history.

Hagi's greatest moment in a blue shirt was his brace in the 3-2 comeback win over Braga in the last 32 of the Europa League to book a tie against Leverkusen in the next round.

His father Gheorghe Hagi was watching on and is widely regarded as his country's greatest ever player. His time at Real Madrid in the 1990s might be one reason for Los Blancos' interest in creating a sentimental homecoming for the next generation of the family.

The attacker is currently at home in Romania during the coronavirus outbreak as leagues across Europe await news of when they can return to training and playing matches.

"I just want to send some love and support from the Rangers family to the whole world, especially the doctors, nurses and health workers," Hagi said amid the stoppage in play.

"The ones that have the courage to go every single day out to work and try to save lives. On the other hand, I am really excited to get back to training. I am looking forward to seeing the guys again and be training with them every single day, but we know we are in a difficult situation right now so the only thing is just to stay healthy, stay safe, stay home, try to follow the rules and everything will be alright."

Despite having a game in hand, Rangers look set to lose the league title again to reigning champions Celtic who currently have a 13 point lead over their rivals.