The level of Rangers’ interest, at this stage, remains a little uncertain. Or, indeed, whether the Scottish Premiership giants are chasing him at all.

But, while some much-needed clarity is required before this little-known 22-year-old can be confirmed as a bonafide Rangers target ahead of the January transfer window, performances like the one he produced on Sunday will certainly do Arif Aiman Hanapi’s chances of a hard-earned switch to European no harm.

Rangers were linked with Malaysia international Arif Aiman Hanapi around a month ago. The reports seemingly emerged via the New Strait Times in his South East Asian homeland.

Now, while Hanapi is obviously far from a household name in Glasgow – or anywhere on the continent, for that matter – his eye-catching record suggests that, if given an opportunity to stake his claim in a more high-profile environment, that could change pretty quickly.

Because, while even Ross County would arguably make mincemeat of the Malaysian Super League, you don’t do what Hanapi did to Kuala Lumpur City without possessing some serious talent.

Taking his tally to 14 goals in 24 games, Hanapi powered Johor Darul Ta’zim to a comfortable 3-0 victory almost single-handedly.

Firing home a hat-trick in the space of just 30 first-half minutes, Hanapi opened the scoring with a lethal strike, drilled into the bottom corner.

His second was nothing short of spectacular. A 30-yard screamer dipping and swerving it’s way into the Kuala Lumpur City top corner. A word of warning for any Scottish Premiership defenders; Should Hanapi end up at Rangers at some point down the line, you’d be best advised not to give him a yard of space to pick his spot from any range.

Hanapi’s third, meanwhile, was a well-struck penalty; hard and fast past a despairing goalkeeper.

Malaysian publication Bernama labelled his performance ‘sensational’. FootBoom, meanwhile, opt for a different but no less complimentary description; ‘Extraordinary’.

Johor Darul Ta’zim’s head coach – the former Venezuela international Hector Bidoglio – feels that there is no player in Malaysian football who can come close to Arif Aiman Hanapi when he is in this sort of form.

The phrase ‘big fish in a small pond’ comes to mind.

Malaysia international Hanapi labelled a ‘phenomenal’ talent

Bidoglio, meanwhile, highlights not only the sheer quality of Hanapi’s finishing but also his work-rate out of possession. An attribute that would endear him to Philippe Clement, and aid his adaptation to life in Scotland providing the rumours of Rangers’ interest are on the money.

“He was phenomenal,” Bidoglio told reporters at full-time. “Not just for the hat-trick but for his overall contribution, both in attack and in defence.

“It’s excellent to witness him in such fine form. I know the effort he puts in day in and day out to improve his game. Clearly, he’s our standout player.”

With Vaclav Cerny only on loan from VFL Wolfsburg, and with Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes enduring a stop-start season due to those ongoing injury issues, a winger appears to be one of Rangers’ top priorities heading into 2025.

Rangers reportedly like Fenerbahce’s Oguz Aydin. An injury to Kwame Poku, meanwhile, means the Peterborough United ace could miss out on an Ibrox switch come January.

Hanapi, meanwhile, might not be the most obvious name on the list, but he might be one of the most exciting.