Summary Rangers failed title chase for third year in a row under Clement, aiming to rebuild with new signings and loaned players. Kieran Dowell's struggles with injuries and performance at Rangers signal possible exit, paving way for Hagi's return to improve midfield. Hagi's past success with Rangers and creativity in LaLiga indicate potential for impactful role in upcoming season under Clement.
Glasgow Rangers failed to win the Scottish Premiership title for the third season in succession as they continue to fall behind their closest rivals.
The Gers have not won the top-flight trophy since the 2020/21 campaign under Steven Gerrard and fell short yet again this year under Philippe Clement, and Michael Beale before him.
They did, however, win the League Cup, with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen, earlier in the season and that meant that they avoided back-to-back campaigns without silverware.
The Light Blues did fail to secure the SFA Cup, though, as they were beaten 1-0 by a 90th minute strike from Adam Idah at Hampden Park in the final last weekend.
Clement will now look ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window and plot moves to improve his squad, with Brazilian left-back Jefte having already signed on a permanent deal from Fluminense.
Whilst the Belgian boss can use the window to bring in new signings to bolster his side, he could also look to bring in players who were already contracted to the Gers but out on loan.
Ianis Hagi spent the season on loan with Alaves in Spain, having been sent away by Beale last summer, and Clement could instantly ditch Kieran Dowell, after one year at Ibrox, by bringing the Romanian ace back into the fold.
Kieran Dowell's first season at Rangers in numbers
The attacking midfielder joined the Light Blues on a free transfer from English Championship side Norwich City ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Dowell arrived off the back of a return of five goals and three assists in 23 second tier matches for the Canaries last season but still fell short of those relatively unimpressive contributions in a Rangers.
The former Everton midfielder managed two goals and two assists in 12 appearances in the Scottish Premiership throughout the season, with zero goals and zero assists in four cup outings.
This means that Dowell ended the campaign with an average of four matches per goal contribution, with four in 16, in all competitions for the Glasgow giants.
He missed 36 matches through injury in total this term for the Gers and may argue that his numbers would have been better had he had better luck with injuries.
However, Dowell never played more than 25 league games in a season in three years at Norwich, which suggests that availability has been a consistent issue for him.
Clement could now instantly ditch him from the squad, whether that is by allowing him to join another club in the summer or dropping him further down the pecking order as a deep reserve option, by bringing Hagi back into the fold.
Ianis Hagi's season on loan at Alaves in numbers
The Romania international suffered a horrible knee injury in January 2022 that kept him out of action for a year and the Gers opted to send him out on loan to start playing regular football again.
He had missed a whopping 69 competitive games due to that injury, having only been absent for two games due to injuries prior to that, but only failed to make one matchday squad for Alaves during the 2023/24 campaign.
This suggests that Hagi is not an injury liability, as Dowell has been, and that his long-term absence with a knee issue has not led to further complications.
However, the 25-year-old wizard will have to battle back to his best on the pitch after such a long time on the sidelines, as shown by a return of zero goals and two assists in 22 matches in LaLiga.
Appearances
22
Starts
8
Goals
0
Assists
2
Big chances created
4
Key passes per game
1.1
Duel success rate
56%
As you can see in the table above, Hagi more than held his own in physical duels and showed promise as a creative threat, but failed to nail down a place in the starting XI.
Clement should see positives in his four 'big chances' created in eight LaLiga starts and hope that he can unearth the title-winning version of the Romanian whiz, who was a key player for Gerrard the last time the Scottish giants won the Premiership title in the 2020/21 campaign.
Ianis Hagi's title-winning magic for Rangers
The former Genk magician showcased his attacking quality from an attacking midfield and wide position throughout the season in all competitions, as he operated in a number ten role out on the right flank.
Hagi racked up eight goals and 15 assists across all competitions for the Scottish giants, which shows that the two-footed ace could provide a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Appearances
33
12
Goals
7
2
Assists
11
2
Big chances created
6
1
Pass accuracy
82%
78%
As you can see in the table above, his performances for the Gers that term were significantly more impressive than Dowell's were for the club in the season just gone.
Hagi proved himself to be a reliable attacking outlet for both goals and assists, with 17 direct goal contributions in 23 league starts, whilst the ex-Norwich man has yet to prove that in a Light Blues shirt.
Whilst there is no guarantee that the £25k-per-week ace can get back to those levels, his rank within the top 8% of LaLiga attacking midfielders and wingers for shot-creating actions per 90 (5.37) suggests that the potential is still there for him to be a huge creative presence in midfield.
Despite his limited game time with Alaves, the 25-year-old gem consistently created opportunities for his teammates to get shots off, and he could use those skills to make things happen in the final third for Rangers next term.
Hagi, who Gerrard described as a "dream" to work with, could emerge as a surprise, given his long injury lay-off and loan exit, star for the Gers next season if given a chance by Clement.
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That would then allow the Belgian boss to instantly ditch Dowell, who has struggled on and off the pitch in Scotland, by bringing the Romanian maestro in to take up the Englishman's place in the squad for the 2024/25 campaign.