Ianis Hagi is ready, willing and able. The long, difficult months of his rehabilitation schedule and the weeks of comment and uncertainty regarding his future are behind him. Now Hagi faces a different test of his quality and his character at Rangers.

Time will tell if they are ones that he is able to pass. Hagi believes that he is in the right place on a personal and professional level. Yet is he there at the right moment and in the right circumstances?

He waited for this chance to come around and it could well be his last one as he seeks to earn the trust of his fourth manager in Glasgow. He is older and wiser than when he first arrived and claimed the affections of the support with his ‘Ibrox baby’ remark. His stock has risen and fallen at various stages since, but his belief in his own ability and his determination to fulfil it has not.

“Definitely,” Hagi told RangersTV when asked about his growth as a player and a person over the five years of his Ibrox career. “I came in as a kid. I'm now a married man. Things have changed a lot since I've been here. We've had some downs with the club, but we definitely had some really high ups. That's my main focus.

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“That's life at the end of the day. There's ups and downs, but you want to focus on the highs and the ups. You want to reproduce them. That's my main focus. We have everything around us, everything that we're surrounded by at the club. You're ready to go.

“That's how I feel at the moment. I feel like I'm much more mature in every aspect. I feel like I haven't played my best football yet in my career. I'm at a moment where I said that I've discovered myself quite a lot and I understand where I can perform my best football. I'm just ready.”

Early last month, it was confirmed that the contract issue that had prevented Hagi from being part of Philippe Clement’s plans had been resolved. There had been a clamour from supporters to see the playmaker involved once again and added to a forward line that needed all the help that it could get. It still does in many ways.

The first match back was a false start for Hagi. He received a rapturous welcome from the Ibrox crowd when he was introduced in the win over St Johnstone, but his evening ended prematurely after a rash challenge saw him red-carded nine minutes from time. An attempt at a tactical foul to break up the play was mistimed and Hagi sought out Saints striker Benjamin Kimpioka after the game to offer his apologies.

After sitting out the defeat to Kilmarnock and win at home to St Mirren, Hagi was a late throw of the dice at Pittodrie as Rangers lost and fell nine points adrift of Aberdeen. On Sunday, he watched the 1-0 victory over Hearts from the bench as Clement turned to Danilo, Ross McCausland and Kieran Dowell as his forward-thinking alterations. It was a game that needed the sort of moment of individual excellence that Hagi is capable of, but Clement chose not to introduce him as the chance of match minutes passed him by.

The run of fixtures after the international break look defining for Hagi now. With Tom Lawrence still sidelined and Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes not yet fit to feature, Clement does not exactly have a plethora of players to pick from. If Hagi can’t get on the park now, then will he ever at Ibrox?

The knee injury that he suffered two years ago in January could have been the beginning of the end for Hagi. He was shipped out on loan to Alaves after being overlooked by Michael Beale and talk of a permanent departure on the back of the European Championship never materialised. In the weeks after representing his country, he found himself training and playing with the B Team.

For a stalwart of the 55 campaign, it was an unfathomable fall from grace and an undoubted waste of talent. In an interview with club media, Hagi addressed his injury recovery and the situation over the summer. They are just two chapters in his Rangers story.

“I really believe in your destiny,” Hagi said. “I feel like there's a path for you, there's a path for everyone out there. It was obviously a huge challenge for myself, considering the stage of my career, considering coming back of a really good Euros with the national team individually and collectively.

“I obviously never expected, but as I said, I think as a football player you have certain challenges that come in your career and you just have to embrace them, which that's what I did. 

(Image: SNS) "At the end of the day, this is my passion, this is everything I love to do in my life and just being out there, being able to train, play football. Obviously, two years ago I couldn't have said this because of my injury and it just made me quite balanced around my life and what I want from my life.”

The loan move proved somewhat unfulfilling on and off the pitch, yielding just eight league starts and two goals in the Copa del Rey. Hagi appreciated the coaching and the way of thinking about the game but the mindset was different at a club that finished tenth in La Liga compared to the high-pressure environment he previously thrived in at Ibrox. He left Rangers, but Rangers never left him.

As his contract stand-off rumbled on, the adage about not getting too high in the good times or too low in the bad times gave Hagi a sense of perspective. On his return to Clement’s squad, the initial conversations regarded what the Belgian terms as ‘the story’ as Hagi sought to understand what would be required from him technically and tactically. He had shown his mentality, while his physical conditioning had been maintained during his time with those aiming to take the step into the first team from the Academy.

“As I said, I just want to help the team win,” Hagi said. “That's all about what I want to do in life. It's win. I know I'm capable of bringing this mentality into the dressing room. I think people know me already. I'm a person that keeps the standards high by my body language, by my work ethic on a daily basis.

“I know what this club is built on. I've had success at this football club and I know what it takes to have that trophy at the end of the season. That's all about my objectives. That's what I want to do. I want to win for this football club. Personally, it's just about keeping the standards as high as possible and getting back on that winning track.”

Hagi knows where that road can end up. The debate over how far along that path Clement’s side are at present will be held throughout the course of the international break. Hagi is still playing catch-up, but he must earn his spot on form rather than sentiment and fixtures against Kosovo and Cyrpus are his priority at present as Romania seek to maintain their momentum following their impressive showing in Germany this summer.

The case for Hagi’s inclusion at club level involves a degree of ifs, buts and maybes, yet there is no doubt that the playmaker has the attributes – both in terms of creating goals and scoring them - to enhance a Rangers attack that lacks guile and an end product.

The graphics below show Rangers’ xG assisted, which measure direct chances created for teammates that end in a shot. In his last full season at Ibrox, Hagi recorded a value of 0.21/per 90 minutes. This term, that figure is only bettered by Vaclav Cerny at 0.22/90 and is greater than Nedim Bajrami’s 0.19/90.

(Image: StatsBomb) There can be a danger that players see their reputation outgrow their ability during periods on the sidelines and Hagi is not a panacea to all the ills that have plagued Rangers this season. Does he immediately come into the side ahead of Cerny or Bajrami in the wider areas or replace Mohamed Diomande at No.10? Right now, probably not. Hagi is, however, an option that Clement must utilise given how lacklustre and uninspiring Rangers have been to watch this term.

(Image: StatsBomb) This next tranche of domestic fixtures will be shape the future for Hagi and Clement and tell supporters a lot about where both are heading. Dundee United and Kilmarnock visit Ibrox, while Clement’s side head to Perth and Dingwall before the League Cup final against Celtic. In each of those Premiership outings, Rangers’ ability to create chances and convert chances will determine their fate.

Rangers are not a team who dominate matches and overpower opponents. Their wins this term have come by narrow margins and largely through individual moments of excellence rather than collective endeavours. Hagi is the sort of player who can deliver in those situations and his influence may just give Rangers the edge at times when they need it most.

At long last this term, Hagi’s moment may have arrived. He has done his bit. Now he needs Clement to do his and give him the opportunity he has waited for and wants.