We’ve been discussing Ianis Hagi’s recent form and how it’s perhaps not sparkled quite as much as we’d want him to, when one reader offered a dramatic suggestion about why it’s dipped a bit below the level it was at in February:
It actually hasn’t.
The reader offered a radical theory that in fact Hagi is playing no worse than he did in February, but instead the team itself is playing much much better, and as such he’s not standing out now in the way he did earlier this year.
In truth, this theory, while bold, isn’t completely wrong. A lot of fans, ourselves included, have suggested his weaker form can be attributed to being out of position on the right wing.
Thing is, he was out there last season too. Four of 6 starts in the SPL last season were out there, and all bar one of his Europa League performances were too.
And yet he appeared to notably stand out and earned himself a deal from it.
This season we’ve presented his stats, and they really aren’t that bad at all – give or take about the same as last season.
And in few matches has he been ‘bad’, frankly.
It just may just be the team is playing so much better now that the form that stood him out so much last season when they weren’t is now demonstrating that he’s not maybe quite as good as we thought he was.
Now, this is only a theory, we are in no way smearing him – we’re just using reasoning, evidence and debate to discuss this idea, and the truth is it’s not without any foundation.
Hopefully it is wrong, hopefully he does start to look much happier and settles in Kent style or Barisic style, because a top quality Romanian international is certainly an asset.