City taking the high road for Hagi, claims agent

CITY have shown interest in Rangers starlet, Ianis Hagi, according to agent Giovani Becali.

Romanian Becali claims the Blues’ football director Txiki Begiristain contacted him to inquire about Hagi, the 21-year-old son of ex-Barcelona and Real Madrid star Gheorghe.

Hagi is currently on loan at Rangers, where he has impressed, and the Scottish Premier League outfit have first option on a £4.5m purchase.

The player had many scouts sitting up and asking questions about him with some eye-catching displays for Romania at the European Under-21 Championships, including a match-winning performance as they knocked out England.

He moved to Kevin De Bruyne’s old club, Genk, from Viitorul Constanta in his homeland but failed to make an impression and was allowed to leave for Ibrox in January.

City are also not believed to be in the market for an attacking midfielder, despite David Silva’s scheduled departure at the end of the season, which suggests Begiristain’s enquiry might have been up to a year ago.

That all makes it unlikely that City would be showing any real interest – Becali fails to say when Begiristain enquired about the player.

He said: “I have been asked personally by Jose Mourinho and Txiki Begiristain about Ianis Hagi.

“They wanted to know about him and how he was getting on.

“So there’s a lot of top people in European football who know all about Ianis and what he can do.

“I happen to think Ianis is on a good plan at Rangers. I think Rangers will sign him because he is a player who has that little extra piece of creativity and skill.

“He has many other qualities and is actually more graceful than his father ever was. He runs like a gazelle compared to him. I think he is improving all the time at Rangers.

“He will continue to get better if he signs for them I think.”