Rangers full-back Ridvan Yilmaz continues to work his way back from a troublesome hamstring injury as the prospect of an exciting link-up with Michael Beale beckons.
The Gers forked out a reported £3.4m rising to £5m [Sky Sports] to sign the 21-year-old Turkey international left-back from Besiktas in the summer but things have not quite worked out as planned.
Ridvan Yilmaz initially struggled to settle in Scotland, the youngster moving out of Turkey and Istanbul for the first time, whilst his Rangers game-time was limited under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
After earning opportunities here and there, and impressing in the 3-0 Champions League defeat away to Napoli, Yilmaz sustained an injury in the win over Aberdeen at Ibrox in late October.
Almost four months later and the kid is still on the sidelines and there’s a feeling Ridvan Yilmaz has been unable to catch a break since moving to Rangers.
But when the player does eventually return – on an as of yet undefined timescale – he’ll be coming back into a resurgent team under new manager Michael Beale.
Ridvan Yilmaz Michael Beale Rangers link-up excites fans
The Rangers manager is famed for working with young players coming into the peak of their powers and at an interesting juncture of Ridvan’s career, the link-up with Beale could be a particularly handy one.
Whilst we’ve yet to see anything like the best of the highly-rated Ridvan Yilmaz at Rangers, if there is anyone who can harness his potential in the seasons ahead it’s the former Liverpool youth coach.
Michael Beale has already managed to start getting the best from Ryan Kent and Malik Tillman, and he can do the same with Ridvan Yilmaz to help breath an exciting youthfulness back into a stagnant Rangers side.
It’s an exciting prospect for Rangers supporters, who’ve suffered this season in the face of injury, tepid football and a lack of belief, heart and invention under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Meanwhile, find out why Dwight Yorke has been raising a few laughs at Ibrox.
