What would normally be a crunch time of the season for Glasgow Rangers has turned into a massive anti-climax following their defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final last week.
The Ibrox side will now almost certainly finish trophyless and the remaining five Premiership matches are pretty much meaningless as there is nothing left to play for bar a minute shot at the Premiership title.
This could well be a blessing in disguise for Michael Beale, who in turn, could give some game time to players who are in his plans for next season and drop the underperformers from last week, such as Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
The Englishman confirmed that Malik Tillman has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and with the attacking midfielder on loan from Bayern Munich, it could well be that last week was his final match for Rangers unless his deal is extended.
With the American out, Beale must now give Ianis Hagi a proper chance to show what he can do across the final five league matches of the campaign, and the tie against Aberdeen this afternoon is the ideal opportunity for him to play 90 minutes.
Will Ianis Hagi start for Rangers against Aberdeen?
The Romanian is only just returning to full fitness following a serious knee injury which ruled him out for close to a year. He missed the Scottish Cup victory as well as the Europa League run last season, and his attacking presence has been missed for the majority of this term.
The 24-year-old has been slowly introduced back to first-team football in the last few months, playing just four league matches, averaging 11 minutes in total.
He will be keen on making the jump to playing a full match, however, and if he can replicate the form that he displayed when the Gers won the title in 2020/21, Beale could have plenty of uses for him.
During that season, Hagi registered 18 goal contributions – seven goals and 11 assists – created six big chances, made one key pass and took 1.8 shots per game, proving he is capable of adding plenty of attacking nous from either an attacking midfield slot or a wide position.
The £21k-per-week gem can certainly terrorise Aberdeen with his talents and he will be desperate to showcase his ability having been on the sidelines for so long.
Steven Gerrard described the player as an “absolute dream to work with”, and there is no doubt that with a full pre-season behind him, he could star for Beale during 2023/24.
