Ianis Hagi happy to be back in Rangers team after ‘things were up in the air’

Ianis Hagi admits “things were up in the air” at Rangers but he is glad to be back in the first team at Ibrox.

The Romania international appeared to be surplus to requirements after returning from a loan spell at Spanish side Alaves and then being frozen out at the start of this season, with another start for the Light Blues reportedly set to trigger a wage rise.

Hagi found himself playing for the B team and was not included in Philippe Clement’s European squad but the Rangers boss announced early in October that the contract issue had been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Hagi would not go into details at the media conference ahead of the home game against Kilmarnock on Wednesday – “those are details that should be kept between myself, my agents, and the club, the gaffer as well” but he did say: “Obviously, you’re in the transfer market so anything can happen at that point.

“And knowing the situation that I was in, obviously, my age as well, being 25, 26.

“So things were up in the air. No one can deny that. Everybody knows that. But what I made it clear is that wherever I am, I’m going to be 100 per cent: B team, first team, or somewhere else.

“I’m just going to respect football because it gave me so much. And it’s the only thing that I love to do.

“In football, everything changes every 24 hours. It’s just crazy how the dynamics change in football.

“So for me, it was just about respecting football, playing football, being physically in the best shape possible every day, and then see where that brings me. And we’re here now.

“It’s definitely good (to be back). Just a nice feeling, pulling on the shirt again, having competition again.

“I just love every second of it, so yeah, it’s good.

“It’s tough when you don’t play football. And I’ve been in worse situations than this one with my injury, being away for a year and not being able to play.

“I was able to train and play with the B team. And a shout out to them because they’ve been unbelievable with me for two or three months.

“So it was a different experience, obviously. But you want to play professional football. So that’s why I’m here. And, yeah, I’m just happy that I’m back.”