Glasgow Rangers gem Malik Tillman has enjoyed a terrific season on loan from German giants Bayern Munich and established himself as a key player under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and, now, Michael Beale.

The USA international has racked up 12 goals and five assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues from an attacking midfield position but it remains to be seen whether he will be at Ibrox next season.

Rangers have an option to sign him permanently for a fee of £5m and the club may wait until the summer to decide whether to activate that or not, depending on the transfer budget in relation to what Beale wants to do.

The head coach may want to make additions in several areas of the pitch and, therefore, the budget may need to be stretched rather than a big chunk of it going to one player.

If this is the case, the boss could save the club millions and invest in other positions by working with current Gers forward Ianis Hagi to get him back to his best.

How has Ianis Hagi performed this season?

The Romanian international returned to action in January of this year after missing 371 days with a knee injury and has struggled to find his feet in the team over the last few months.

Hagi has made seven appearances for Beale since the turn of the year and has failed to produce a single goal or assist in 108 minutes of action.

However, his lack of production on the pitch this season is not a fair reflection of his talent or the potential he has to be a key player for the head coach in the coming months and years.

At 24, the mercurial Romanian playmaker still has plenty of development left to go through and is still recovering from a horrific long-term injury, which could take a full pre-season in the summer for him to return to full fitness.

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Hagi's form in the 2020/21 campaign under Steven Gerrard's management was sensational and suggests that he has the quality to replace Tillman at Ibrox if the American returns to Bayern.

The exciting £3m dynamo racked up eight goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues, which works out as a direct goal contribution every 1.96 matches.

Reporter Joshua Barrie hailed the magician's season as "impressive" and lauded his ability to "split" open teams in the final third.

Tillman, meanwhile, has scored or assisted a goal every 2.53 outings for the club this term whilst playing in similar positions, either out wide or behind the main striker.

These statistics suggest that Beale could replace the American international with an upgrade in the attacking midfield positions by working with Hagi to get him back to the best of his ability, as the gem has already proven that he has the quality to score and assist goals on a regular basis in Scotland.