Rangers appear to be closing in on a deal for highly-rated Besiktas left-back Ridvan Yilmaz if the latest coming out of Turkey is to be believed.
The Ibrox side have not denied interest in the 21-year-old Turkey international full-back as the Gers move to strengthen the position following the exit of Calvin Bassey.
Nigerian international Bassey has banked the club an initial £19.6m following his high-profile move to Dutch giants Ajax.
Part of this is set to be reinvested back into the position – despite the fact Rangers have also spent £3m rising to £4m on Liverpool centre-back Ben Davies – with Ridvan Yilmaz the name on everyone’s lips ahead of the new season.
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst even hinted that the Ibrox side could move in the position after the 3-1 friendly win over West Ham.
Since then there’s been plenty of chatter surrounding the young Besiktas full-back but what’s the script when it comes to Rangers and Ridvan Yilmaz?
Rangers continue pursuit of Besiktas’ Ridvan Yilmaz
First linked by the Daily Mail to the tune of £4m, Rangers Review journalist Derek Clark used his ties with the club to clarify the interest but claimed at the beginning of the week Besiktas’ demands were too high.
The story then became a big one in Turkey and since then Rangers fans have been trying to make sense of the interest amid claims of rejected bids, improved offers and sell-on clauses.
But whilst there’s a lot of information on this story and some of it hard to clarify, it does appear Rangers are at least edging closer to signing Ridvan Yilmaz.
If the Ibrox side can pull the singing off, this would be substantial coup given links to the likes of Ligue 1 OL, Serie A Torino, La Liga Barcelona and most prominently, Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
Fanatik journalist Gokmen Ozcan is claiming that Rangers have offered a substantial £5.5m package for the defender in deal that includes a 20% sell-on clause.
Yilmaz claims that Rangers’ offer is the same as Frankfurt’s but offers better terms, with Besiktas set to “green light” the move having looked at the offer “positively”.
However, another verified Turkish journalist in Murat Ozen, who writes for rival publication Orta Cizgi claims things aren’t quite to far along.
Ozen claims that Rangers have bid £5.1m for the player but Besiktas are seeking more assurances regarding add-ons, which they hope to be more achievable.
Whilst both journalists are offering different takes on the situation, there is a growing sense of optimism that Rangers are edging closer to getting this deal done.
If the club can add Ridvan Yilmaz, the young Turk become the club’s seventh addition this window behind John Souttar, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Malik Tillman and Ben Davies.
Speaking of Ben Davies, the Englishman’s arrival surely means it’s curtains for one player currently in the background of the Ibrox squad.