Rangers fans have taken to Twitter to praise Jake Hastie for his performance in Rotherham United’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Tuesday night.
The young winger made it three goals in three games with a second half equaliser against the Black Cats, a result that moves his side up to 14th in the League One table.
But it was the individual display from the 20-year-old that caught many an eye north of the border, and with every passing game the decision to let him go out on loan and play first team football looks vindicated more and more.
Here are some of the best tweets from Gers supporters.
https://twitter.com/EuanMacTaggart/status/1174231122001244161?s=20
Jake Hastie is on fire for Rotherham could be massive for us in the champions league qualifiers next season ?
— Scott (@scottI998) September 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/william72765182/status/1174089251249623040?s=20
You can’t really ask for more than what Hastie is giving the Millers right now.
A 100% goalscoring record in English football is nothing to be sniffed at, but it has been the maturity he has shown in hitting his three goals that has impressed the most.
You could argue that his 66th minute strike against Sunderland was the first that actually mattered, securing a point for his side away from home at one of the strongest sides in the division.
His first goal, by contrast, was the opener in a 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers, and his second was the last in a 6-1 rout of struggling Bolton Wanderers.
But each one of those goals has shown a slightly different trait.
The first, against Doncaster, was a devilish free kick, but also showed a real calmness in his ability to keep his head and not let the occasion of his debut get to him.
The second, even though it was a tap-in and ultimately inconsequential to the final outcome, illustrated a young player who is hungry for goals and willing to keep grafting to the very last.
And the third, arguably the pick of the bunch, showcased a wonderful finisher’s instinct, finding the space in a breathless counter attack and lashing the ball on the half-volley past a helpless Mackem goalkeeper.
Jake Hastie is flying. Would of like to seen him this season
— The Famous (@TheFamousRFC) September 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/laurenrfc96/status/1174062132893278213?s=20
All in all, plenty to get excited about then, but make no mistake, it will not be easy for Hastie to work his way back into contention at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard has an abundance of options out wide, with the last minute summer swoop for Ryan Kent adding to the likes Sheyi Ojo, Jordan Jones, Brandon Barker, and Joe Aribo – who has occasionally been deployed in a wide position – as competition for Hastie.
Crucially, however, only Aribo and Ojo have outscored Hastie so far this term, hitting four each, taking 13 and 11 games to reach that total respectively.
That means that Hastie has a goals per minute ratio of one every 77 minutes, as per Transfermarkt, compared to one every 268 for Aribo and one every 205 minutes for Ojo.
In short, if Hastie keeps up this kind of form then it will be hard for Gerrard to ignore him as a goal threat when he returns from his spell in England.
https://twitter.com/Montana100/status/1174051731656908800?s=20
https://twitter.com/IainAGrahamRFC/status/1174054405253095425?s=20