Clement must ditch Bajrami to offload ‘absolute dream’ Rangers ace

Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement has the chance to win his second trophy in charge of the club in the League Cup final at Hampden Park this afternoon.

The Light Blues boss won the competition last season, beating Aberdeen 1-0 in the final, and now hopes to successfully defend the crown against Celtic.

Rangers held Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League at Ibrox on Thursday night in Europa Leaguein his last match before today’s clash.

However, Clement could try to make some changes to the starting lineup from that game, with Nedim Bajrami one of the players who could be brutally sidelined.

Why Nedim Bajrami could be kicked out

The Albania international was initially selected in the Scottish giants’ tenth place in the match against Spurs in midweek, but failed to show the best of his abilities.

Bajrami, who moved on a permanent deal from Sassuolo in the summer transfer window, played opening 68 minutes game and did not directly participate in the only goal of Rangers – Hamza Igamane.

Just a 25-year-old midfielder completed 76% of his pass attempts and made one key pass, without creating a ‘big chance’, and lost two of his three duels.

This statistic shows that he was light off the ball and that the Albanian striker did not contribute much at the top of the pitch, with a lack of quality on the ball.

With this in mind, Clement should brutally remove him from the starting XI for this afternoon’s trip to Hampden Park, and release Yanis Hagi instead.

Why Iannis Hagi should start

The Romanian international has been in impressive form since returning to the first team and based on recent performances deserves to start this cup final clash.

He was ineligible to face Spurs on Thursday as the midfielder was not included in the Europa League squad at the start of the season, but had previously been successful in domestic games.

Hagi has started the last three games in the Scottish Premiership and played every three minutes in those outings, which speaks volumes for how much confidence Clement has in him at the moment.

As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old dynamo that he was called an “absolute dream” with whom Steven Gerrard will work, has been very productive in his limited minutes in the division this season.

Hagi created ten chances and registered three assists in just three starts, while his fantastic cross forced an own goal in 1-0 win over St Johnstone, so you could argue he’s got four goals in six games.

It suggests that today he could offer the team far more than Bajrami, who has passed six matches for club and country without contributing goals, as a creative threat in the number ten position.

That’s why Clement must restore Hagi to a starting position immediately after he was unable to play against Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday.