While Rangers’ business is done for this season in terms of incomings, not every league in Europe followed in the Scotland’s example and brought down the shutters on Monday night.
Clubs in the Austrian Bundesliga will still be free to sign new players until Thursday. The respective transfer windows of Croatia, Switzerland, Hungary and Romania also have plenty of time left to run.
What’s more, the Turkish window’s deadline is not due to arrive until February 11th.
And while Ridvan Yilmaz played down reports of a return to Turkey this week, it appears his comments are yet to reach the local press back home.
Because, despite Yilmaz’s insistence that he always wanted to stay put at Rangers, his name continues to be paraded around the gossip columns as Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor all ramp up their pursuit of a left-sided full-back between now and the close of play on Tuesday.
Galatasaray ‘crisis’ as Ridvan Yilmaz pledges future to Rangers
Rangers reportedly turned down Besiktas’ offer of a loan-to-buy deal on Monday. The Istanbul giants are keen to bring Yilmaz back to the club where he started his career, but bid worth £3.3 million was not enough to twist The Gers’ arm.
Ridvan Yilmaz allegedly turned down Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, alongside Trabzonspor too.
Ironically, Trabzonspor would go on to sell Borna Barisic to Leganes, meaning Yilmaz would have ended up replacing a man he forced out of Ibrox had he opted to put pen to paper with the Black Sea outfit.
Now, with Galatasaray unbeaten and six points clear at the top of the Super Lig table, ‘crisis’ is just about the last word that comes to mind as the reigning champions cruise towards another domestic title.
But with the injury-hit Ismail Jakobs now facing another spell on the sidelines with an ankle tendon issue, ‘crisis’ is how Taka Gazete describe Galatasaray’s issues in the left-back department.
Coach Okan Buruk is reportedly desperate for a left-sided defender amid growing concerns over Jakobs. The Galatasaray boss has installed Yilmaz and Cenk Ozkacar of Real Vallodolid as his ‘primary targets’, feeling that a player with a history in Turkey’s top flight is the best available option as Buruk looks for someone to arrive and adapt immediately.
Galatasaray had better hope Real Valladolid are open to offers, though. Because neither Rangers nor Ridvan Yilmaz appear to have any interest of parting ways, particularly now that the Scottish window has closed for new arrivals.
Ridvan Yilmaz dreams of Premiership glory at Rangers
“I love this country and the people here,” Yilmaz said after reportedly snubbing the advances of Trabzonspor, Fenerbahce and old employers Besiktas. “When I arrived, I couldn’t speak English and didn’t know anything about Scotland but everyone at the club was so helpful.
“It was tough at the start but now everything is normal. I feel Scottish because of what everyone has taught me!”
Yilmaz, his importance growing during an injury crisis which forced him to fill in on the right-hand side, still has one big ambition to tick off on his Rangers bucket list.
“I can’t say [my time in Scotland] has gone as well as I had hoped because, at this club, you always want to be the champions,” Yilmaz adds. “We haven’t done that yet while I have been here.
“We always try our best and I can assure everyone that the gaffer and my teammates want to achieve that.”
