Ryan Jack became the latest ex Rangers player to try his hand in Turkey when he signed for Erokspor.
The midfielder swapped the Scottish Premiership for the Turkish second tier after his Ibrox contract expired, through he didn’t sign on for the Istanbul side until after the transfer window closed.
He followed in the footsteps of Ryan Kent, Borna Barisic and John Lundstram who all made the move to the same nation on free transfers after their Gers deals expired.
However he was the only one not in the top flight with eyebrows raised over his move to the TFF First League, especially when he had interest from the Scottish Premiership.
Jack on Eroksport challenges after Rangers exit
Moving to a new country is always going to be difficult, especially when you’ve spent your entire career to date playing in your homeland.
There are no new things to adapt to both on the pitch and off it, from getting used to a new way of playing to hoping your family settle in the area.
Jack says his manager speaks very little English which is the same for his teammates and that has been a challenge for him.
But he has hailed everyone involved with the club for their help in settling him in.
The 32-year-old told BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast: “The football’s different, the culture’s different, obviously living in Istanbul, it’s a great city. I’m just taking it all in.
“The manager, he doesn’t speak English, or very broken English. A lot of the coaching staff are the same.
“A lot of the Turkish players don’t speak a lot of English, so for me, the first couple of days, it was just getting my head around it all and trying to communicate.
“I’d come home and think, how am I going to get through this with communication and speaking to people?
“But credit to everyone at the club, they’ve made a big effort with me and they’ve got me a translator.
“The coaching staff are trying to learn a bit of English with me, and so are the players. So yeah, it’s all going well and I’m enjoying it, so hopefully that continues.”
Jack will hope to fare better than ex Rangers teammates
Just over a year after moving to Turkey, ex-Rangers winger Ryan Kent has had his Fenerbahce contract terminated.
The Liverpool academy graduate was never a regular in the side since the start and saw himself frozen out by Jose Mourinho, who then fumed when Kent reportedly turned down a massive 21 chances to leave the club.
Another of Jack’s former teammates, Borna Barisic, could follow him with reports that Trabzonspor are looking to terminate his contract.
The left-back has barely featured since moving from Glasgow, starting just one league game.
John Lundstram has fared slightly better at the same club, at least featuring regularly. But he has found himself slaughtered by the media at times and was recently told he “offers nothing” in midfield.
