Son of Romanian legend Hagi poised to agree Ibrox loan deal

Ianis Hagi is set to become Steven Gerrard’s first January signing as the son of Romania great Gheorghe prepares to agree a six-month loan deal.

Gerrard has been focusing on trimming his squad this month but is now ready to make a move for the highlyrated Genk midfielder.

Hagi – whose father starred for both Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as Romania at two World Cups – has himself won 10 caps for his country.

He also shone at the European Under-21 Championship last summer, scoring against both England and a Croatia side containing Ibrox defender Nikola Katic.

He signed for Belgian outfit Genk for £4 million last summer but could now secure a permanent switch to glasgow if he impresses Gerrard during the title race run-in.

The Light Blues boss confirmed after Wednesday’s win over Ross County he was confident of recruiting a new player before the transfer window closes on today.

Gerrard is also set to meet with sporting director Ross Wilson to decide if they need to bring in extra striking cover after seeing Jermain Defoe suffer a calf injury after opening the scoring against Staggies.

Meanwhile, Gers defender Matt Polster has vowed to make the most of the second chance he has been given by Gerrard.

The USA international looked set to be part of the Ibrox club’s January clearout having struggled for first-team action since arriving 12 months ago.

Livingston were rumoured to be monitoring his situation, while a move back to the MLS was mooted as it appeared the former Chicago Fire man’s stint in Scotland was coming to an end.

But with skipper James Tavernier out injured and rival right-back Jon Flanagan low on form, the 26-year-old was finally given his opportunity at Tynecastle on Sunday.

Polster was introduced for Flanagan at half-time and, while Gers slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-league Hearts, he impressed enough to earn his first Ladbrokes Premiership start against Ross County three days later.

It was another encouraging display as he helped Gerrard’s team to a 2- 0 win on Wednesday night and Polster has now been told he will be staying put until the summer at least.

But the American insists he never wanted to leave Ibrox in the first place.

“There’s been no offers that I know of,” he said.

“For me, I never wanted to leave the club and my goal was always to stay here and make it work here and be as successful as I could.

“I was never looking to leave. I read in the media that I am not going anywhere now. That’s what (the manager) has told me.”

Full-back Borna Barisic has signed a two-year contract extension. The 27-year-old is now committed to the Ibrox outfit until 2024 and the news will end speculation over his immediate future.

Rangers are thought to have rebuffed interest from Roma after placing a £10m valuation on the Croatia international.

Barisic has made 52 appearances for Gers since joining the club from NK Osijek in 2018.

SNS. Ianis Hagi arrives at Edinburgh Airport last night.