Ridvan Yilmaz has little interest in leaving Rangers on loan and will hold out for a long-year contract if he leaves the Scottish Premiership giants and returns to Turkey with Galatasaray.
To quote Haber Turk, things are getting ‘hot’ as far as Ridvan Yilmaz’s future is concerned, with both Rangers and Galatasaray seemingly cracking their knuckles and preparing for a mid-season which which appears to be getting more likely by the day.
Super Lig champions Galatasaray have set their sights on Yilmaz after being priced out of a deal for Brest left-back Bradley Locko.
Rangers, meanwhile, are already lining up potential replacements. According to the Daily Record, Philippe Clement’s side are scouting Kai Wagner of Philadelphia Union and PSV Eindhoven youngster Fredrik Oppegard.
Ridvan Yilmaz could leave Rangers in January
Yilmaz, Haber Turk say, would prefer a permanent departure. He wants a clean break, rather than a short-term exit, though it remains to be seen whether Galatasaray are willing – or able – to oblige. Yilmaz, who has his eyes firmly fixed on a contract until the summer of 2027 in Istanbul, could find himself at the mercy of Turkey’s ‘foreign player rule’.
Should the regulations change, Galatasaray could opt to bring in a non-homegrown option.
There is also the not-so-insignificant matter of Yilmaz’s price-tag. Galatasaray are hoping to avoid a substantial mid-season outlay, and it remains to be seen how much Rangers will demand for a full-back who joined for a cool £3.5 million from Besiktas a year-and-a-half ago.
Rangers could yet lose both of their first-team left-backs in 2024. The long-serving Borna Barisic is due to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.
Philippe Cement eyeing a new left-back
“I think Yilmaz and that left-back area is going to be an area that has to be addressed,” former Ibrox striker Kenny Miller tells BBC Radio Scotland. “If it is not going to be in January, it has to be addressed in the summer. No doubt.
“I think Yilmaz has had so many opportunities over the course of the last two seasons. He has not grasped that, and I think you can see some of the frustration of his player and his misplaced passes from Philippe Clement on the side.
“So I think it will be addressed in the summer.”
Rangers have already concluded one January deal. Fabio Silva arrived on loan from Wolves earlier this week.
