European giants failed in move to sign in-form Rangers star in previous window
GALATASARAY boss Okan Buruk has revealed they tried to sign Rangers star Ianis Hagi and reckons he will play for the Turkish giants one day. Hagi was born in Istanbul when his legendary father Gheo…
GALATASARAY boss Okan Buruk has revealed they tried to sign Rangers star Ianis Hagi and reckons he will play for the Turkish giants one day.
Hagi was born in Istanbul when his legendary father Gheorghe was playing for Galatasaray in 1998 and has never hidden his admiration for the club.
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Ianis Hagi's links with Galatasaray go back to before he was even bornCredit: Getty
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Dad Gheorghe played for them and Hagi Jr has been a target for the club tooCredit: PA
Galatasaray manager Buruk was a colleague of Hagi senior back then and went on to manage the club and holds the record as having won the most titles in Turkey with seven as a player and three as a manager.
And he's broken his silence about his interest and admiration for Hagi, who is out of contract at Ibrox the end of the season.
Buruk said: "During a previous transfer window, we were interested in him. He is a very good player.
"Unfortunately, he was injured in the past. But now, he is OK.
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"I know he's playing well at Rangers now.
"I remember him when he was a child here at Galatasaray. He used to be everywhere. He was sitting and watching the training.
"In the last two years, I have always followed Ianis. Now he is in good shape.
"He is a good footballer, with potential. I repeat, we were interested in him during a transfer period, but he plays for another team just now.
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"Who knows? Maybe one day he'll play for Galatasaray."
Hagi, 26, has had a new lease of life at Rangers since being welcomed back into the team by Philippe Clement once a long stand-off was resolved.
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The playmaker has three goals and five assists since returning to the fold.
Clement said back in October: "It's a new signing in that way, because I was never able to work with him and to have him in my squad.
“That it was a contract issue from before my time, so the issue is solved.
“So both parties, the club and Hagi came together and now it's resolved.
"So it's normal, he's back in the squad training and by getting him back to his best level, that's the job now to do.
“He's not an option yet, so there's a way to go of course, but the more players you can have that can make a difference for your team, the better.
“So clearly I'm happy that this situation that I didn't like to have is resolved now.
“He behaves all the time well and our contact was good all the time, so there was never a problem between us.
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“We met each other a lot of times here in the building, so he did everything what you expect from a professional player.
“But in those situations it's maybe not always the case, but he's been an example in that way for sure.”
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