Rangers will have to do a lot of buying and selling in a very short time if Philippe Clement is to get what he wants this summer.
One of the issues is that there are a lot of players who are on long-term contracts and not offering anywhere near enough – moving them on could be key.
No player is irreplaceable in the current squad and Rangers could have a decision to make between two high-profile players competing for the same minutes.
Will Rangers sell Todd Cantwell or Ianis Hagi?
The manager clearly prefers to play with three midfielders with two of them either being box-to-box or one of them being more attack minded in a number 10 role.
When he first arrived at Rangers, Todd Cantwell looked to be the answer to their creativity problems.
Having previously been valued at as high as £50m by Norwich City, it looked like Michael Beale had pulled off a masterstroke.
Bizarrely, he then played Cantwell in a deeper role to make room for Sam Lammers and it wasn’t until Philippe Clement arrived at Ibrox that there was an upturn in his form.
What hasn’t helped his cause is the various cryptic social media posts and apparent frustration at not being able to do his own thing.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Rangers cashed in on a player who was a bargain at around £1.5m.
If the 26-year old was to leave, Clement has a ready made replacement, however, Ianis Hagi’s future is also far from certain.
The Romanian international’s time at Deportivo Alaves might not have gone exactly as planned but it has given him essential minutes after missing over a year through injury.
Like Cantwell, Hagi is capable of playing as an 8, 10 or on the right wing too.
For Rangers, he has spent most of his time on the right and it was in Joe Aribo’s African Cup of Nations enforced absence that he finally got a run in a more central position only to get injured almost immediately.
The biggest difference between the two, is that Hagi – despite his name – has never considered himself to be the main character.
He has also shown leadership qualities beyond his years in his early days at the club.
In terms of numbers, there is almost no difference between the two, but it is character and personality where there is a chasm.
The key difference between Cantwell and Hagi
At their respective bests, Cantwell is the better player, the problem is that he lacks the consistency needed to really grab games where Rangers are struggling by the scruff of the neck.
If he is having a bad game, he is almost anonymous.
Hagi, on the other hand, will keep going, keep trying to play passes and keep trying to make something happen.
Hagi can have a bad game and still be the difference.
With Cantwell, there is no happy medium.
When he’s good, he’s very good.
When he’s bad, he gets taken off in the first half.
For sheer profit, selling Cantwell makes more sense because Hagi was bought for £3m and there isn’t as big a margin.
His highlight reel for Rangers will look great, however, is Cantwell’s seven goals and seven assists, really the sort of return that Philippe Clement will want from his main playmaker?
If only he had Hagi’s attitude.
