As Rangers’ transfer business from this summer comes in for scrutiny, there are two signings from last summer in Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies which are proving an Ibrox crutch.
Gers boss Michael Beale snapped back at journalists following the club’s 1-0 defeat to Old Firm rivals Celtic, claiming that £13m has been spent on nine players this summer.
With the bulk of that spent on the club’s forward line, Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo are all under immense pressure after – simply put – failing to deliver at Ibrox so far.
But whilst this transfer trio might be misfiring, at least they’re in the Rangers team, with £9m left sitting on the bench in the shape of Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies.
Ridvan Yilmaz failing to repay Rangers transfer outlay
Rangers signed a deal worth an initial reported £3.4m rising to £5m to sign Turkish international wing-back Ridvan Yilmaz from Besiktas last summer.
The youngster initially struggled to settle into life in Glasgow and Giovanni van Bronckhorst was grilled at the time for a lack of first-team exposure for the now-22-year-old.
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A troublesome hamstring injury would then devastate his first season in Glasgow and – despite seeing a few glimpses of what the player might offer – Ridvan was scarcely seen in his debut season.
One year on and injuries are continuing to disrupt the situation surrounding Ridvan Yilmaz and it’s telling that Michael Beale preferred to start natural right-back Dujon Sterling in the weekend’s defeat to Celtic.
Ben Davies move an Ibrox crutch
Similarly, Rangers signed a £3m rising to £4m deal to sign Ben Davies from Liverpool last summer but the move has not worked out as things stand.
Also seeing his first season in Glasgow disrupted by injury, Ben Davies has failed to win the hearts of Rangers fans and, combined with his wages, represents a financial outlay which hasn’t been returned.
Linked with a loan move to Stoke City at the end of the transfer window, all the sounds suggest Davies wants to fight for his place in Glasgow but fans remain unconvinced.
It’s also why the club couldn’t complete a deal for Harry Souttar before the window closed.
That neither player played a key role in the club’s disastrous week in the Champions League and against Celtic speaks volumes about this expensive failure at Ibrox.
When Rangers spend £9m they need immediate returns and so far, moves for Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies are proving a crutch on the Ibrox club’s progress.