This January has been about forward planning when it comes to the Rangers squad.
In terms of incomings, only Lille loanee Rafael Fernandes has joined the club but Rangers have one eye on a future deal for the talented Portuguese defender.
Nils Koppen has also set about righting the wrongs of the club’s recent past by moving on the likes of Alex Lowry, Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo in this window.
But whilst the clear-out continues and Rangers look to restructure under Philippe Clement, the Rangers manager insists one exit-linked star is going nowhere.
Ridvan Yilmaz Rangers transfer deja vu
Barely a transfer window goes by without Rangers left-back Ridvan Yilmaz being linked with a return to Turkey.
The Turkish international moved to Rangers in the summer of 2022 and initially struggled to adapt to life in Glasgow after a £5m switch from Besiktas.
Injury has also hampered Ridvan’s spell at Rangers and every transfer window Yilmaz is predictably linked with a return to Besiktas or a move to Turkey.
This January has been no different.
Philippe Clement branded reporting around Yilmaz a ‘shambles’ after the left-back uploaded an image of an Istanbul cafe to his Instagram story.
Heading into transfer deadline day questionable reporting in Turkey persists with the line that Yilmaz is interested in a move to Istanbul.
Philippe Clement responds to Ridvan Yilmaz exit links
Philippe Clement has been clear that whilst the defender missed the 4-0 win over Ross County, Ridvan Yilmaz is going nowhere.
The 23-year-old left-back is clearly highly-rated by the Belgian manager and Clement insists Rangers are expecting the defender to still be at Ibrox beyond the transfer deadline.
”He’s injured,” Clement told BBC Sport when asked about Yilmaz’s situation ahead of the win over the Staggies.
“We can only let players go that perform well if we can replace them by better players, so I don’t expect that in the case of Ridvan.”
Ridvan Yilmaz spent three months of the season sidelined with a hamstring injury but has made 20 appearances for the Gers this campaign.
