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Germany advanced to the final of the U-21 European Championships by virtue of a 4-2 win over Romania at the Renato Dall’Ara Arena in Bologna, Italy. Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc were both in attendance at the match, presumably to keep a close eye on Romanian midfielder Ianis Hagi, son of Romanian footballing legend, Gheorghe Hagi.
A report by tz suggests Romanian press has already said that the Bundesliga has already begun talks with Hagi’s father to try to convince him to move to the German top flight. Both Bayern and Dortmund have made a habit of scouting young talents, and it’s telling that both Zorc and Salihamidzic were at the match. Salihamidzic was also present at the semi-final match between France and Spain, which Spain won 4-1. It’s more than likely that both clubs would be ready and willing to sign him for the right price. It seems as if a great deal of a potential transfer to either club would come down to negotiations with his father.
Hagi plays primarily as an attacking, number 10 midfielder for both Romania and Romanian Liga 1 side FC Viitorul. Domestically, he scored a total of 14 goals and provided 8 assists from 39 appearances across all competitions this past season for Viitorul. He scored 2 goals in Romania’s U-21 European Championships run to the semi-finals; once in their 4-1 win over Croatia and once in their 4-2 win over England.
Hagi’s finely taken goal vs. England:
Ianis Hagi puts England to the sword. pic.twitter.com/c4MZRVdJJg
— Steven (@SanPenguinYo) June 21, 2019
While he doesn’t have the pedigree of experience in a top European league, there’s no disguising the fact that Hagi has been one of the most exciting young prospects at the U-21 European Championships. With the departures of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, and James Rodriguez, there’s space in Bayern’s midfield to be filled. That’s not to say Hagi would immediately walk into the first team squad, but he could prove to be the perfect type of player to mold in the reserve team to eventually make his way in to the first team. Bayern also wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to invest in him, especially if Dortmund are already interested as well.
Hopefully, Hagi is a player that Bayern can convince to come to Munich for the right price with the aim of developing him to a level where he’s eventually a regular first team player.