The chances of Galatasaray making a move for Rangers left-back Ridvan Yilmaz are increasing ‘day by day’ with the club’s number one target Bradley Locko potentially too expensive around £9 million.
That is according to Haber Turk, Galatasaray’s pursuit of a new left-sided full-back proving to be rather problematic.
In an ideal world, the Super Lig giants would not bring Ridvan Yilmaz back to Turkey a year and a half on from his Besiktas departure. Bradley Locko, the report adds, is the man currently at the top of Galatasaray’s January wishlist, with Yilmaz further down on the page.
But with Stade Brestois of France’s Ligue 1 demanding a fee in the region of £9 million for Locko, a team who took four points off Manchester United in the Champions League group-stages could be forced to prioritise Yilmaz instead.
Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz facing January uncertainty
Haber Turk go as far as to say that the chances of Yilmaz returning to Istanbul are ‘increasing day by day’.
It remains to be seen how much Rangers would demand for the Turkey international, who set the Glasgow giants back around £3.5 million when joining in the summer of 2022. Yilmaz, however, is likely to be available for a fraction of the fee Brest want for Locko.
Galatasaray recently played down reports suggesting that they were in discussions over Yilmaz, but that could soon change.
Galatasaray considering a deal
The 22-year-old has again failed to oust Borna Barisic from the Rangers XI. He was left out of the club’s Europa League roster under Mick Beale, and left on the bench by Philippe Clement during the Scottish League Cup final victory over Aberdeen on Sunday.
“Ridvan Yilmaz’s agent, Necdet Ergezen, went to Scotland to meet with Rangers,” Turkish reporter Yagiz Sabuncuoglu wrote on X in November. “They are not very happy with Ridvan’s playing time. There will be a meeting between the parties regarding the future of the player.”
