Loaned from KRC Genk in January to help with Steven Gerrard’s attack at Rangers, Ianis Hagi’s time at Ibrox got off to a terrific start.
The Romania international was key to the Scottish club making it as far as they have done in the Europa League, and he also scored the winner in a 2-1 win over Hibernian soon after his arrival.
This led to immediate talk about his loan deal being made permanent, as Rangers included a clause to buy him outright if they so wished, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The delay in doing so has led to rumours suggesting he could return to Belgium in the summer, but it could just be Gerrard and co. are simply weighing up the pros and cons of whether or not they should.
Either way, the Covid-19 outbreak added an extra spanner in the works, with football being put on hold for the time being, meaning Rangers might have to make a decision based on what they’ve seen so far if the season gets cancelled.
However, if it doesn’t and there’s an agreement the season will finish regardless of when it does so, then Hagi could be allowed to stay until the end of the campaign despite the fact his current loan is expected to end on June 30th.
A document obtained by Reuters and relayed by France Football states that FIFA are looking into allowing all current contracts to be exceptionally extended until a season has officially ended.
This would be to allow clubs to finish the season with the same team they had when their campaign was paused by the current pandemic.
There has been no formalisation of this just yet, with it being discussed on Thursday, but if that’s the direction FIFA are leaning towards (and it would mess up the transfer window, but that’s an entire different kettle of fish), then it should reassure Rangers and their fans about losing Hagi on June 30th.
It also would give more time for those in charge to decide if he’s worth the money or not.
