Ibrox icon Kenny Miller expects Rangers to look for a new left-back in 2024 with Borna Barisic and Ridvan Yilmaz both facing uncertain futures at the Scottish Premiership giants.
Barisic, the long-serving Croatia international, is out of contract next summer. In an ideal world, and despite his advancing age, Rangers would prefer to keep him.
It may be a different story with Ridvan Yilmaz, however. Signed in a £3.5 million deal from Besiktas a year-and-a-half ago, Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over St Johnstone was the latest in a string of below-par displays from a man who has not come close to living up to his price-tag in Glasgow.
‘Very poor’, was Glasgow Live’s assessment of Yilmaz’s ‘four out of ten’ midweek display.
And Miller, speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, believes that it is only a matter of time before Rangers start pursuing a replacement, with Yilmaz potentially following Barisic out the door.
Rangers could lose both of their left-backs in 2024
“I think Yilmaz and that left-back area is going to be an area that has to be addressed”, Miller argues. “If it is not going to be in January, it has to be addressed in the summer. No doubt.
“Will Borna Barisic move on? It certainly looks that way.
“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.”
Galatasaray open talks with Ridvan Yilmaz
Yilmaz could return to his native Turkey in the New Year. Galatasaray have reportedly opened talks with the 22-year-old’s camp after accepting that their number one left-back target – Brest’s Bradley Locko – is simply too expensive
Rangers, meanwhile, may be tempted to renew their interest in Archie Brown, a talented young left-back going from strength to strength in Belgium. That ship may have already sailed, however. Brown is now attracting Premier League interest after swapping Lausanne Sport for Gent over the summer.
