Rangers appears to have become something of a destination of choice for Turkish clubs on the lookout for recruitment opportunities.
When Ryan Kent’s contract expired in the summer of 2024, the long-serving winger opted not for a return to England but embarked upon an exciting, if ultimately pretty disastrous, spell at Fenerbahce.
Ryan Jack currently plays for Esenler Erokspor. Trabzonspor seized the chance to sign John Lundstram and Borna Barisic, meanwhile, when the midfielder and the left-back both became free-agents.
After a slow start, the former Rangers duo are starting to find their feet in Turkey.
Trabzonspor opted to keep Borna Barisic despite interest from back home in Croatia. John Lundstram has helped turn a relegation battle into a top-half push, opening his account in stunning style during the recent 4-0 beating of Sivasspor.
So with Trabzonspor on the lookout for another left-sided defender, who did they turn to but Rangers? And, specifically, Ridvan Yilmaz.
Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz open to Besiktas but turns down Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce
Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, speculation is on the rise regarding a rumoured return to Turkey for the £3.4 million former Besiktas flyer.
Besiktas reportedly opened talks to bring Ridvan Yilmaz back to the Vodafone Arena, though Rangers boss Philippe Clement played down reports of an imminent exit ahead of a 3-1 victory over Dundee United in which the club’s number three missed through injury.
Besiktas are not taking no for an answer, though.
Turkish reporter Gokhmen Ozcan believes that Yilmaz is tempted by the idea of picking up where he left off in Istanbul. Certainly more so than the idea of joining Lundstram and Barisic on the banks of the Black Sea, or linking up with Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce for instance.
“The football player Besiktas are keen on is Ridvan Yilmaz,” Ozcan explains. “Fenerbahce wanted him. Trabzonspor wanted him too, they have always asked for it.
“[Yilmaz] always said; ‘No, I will stay here’. But, when we look at the current situation, Yilmaz is positive about returning to Besiktas.
“If Ridvan comes here, he will be the first-choice. I think he will come to Besiktas and be in the starting XI and make an important contribution.”
Yilmaz nicked Barisic’s place in the Rangers XI in the second half of last season, contributing to the veteran’s eventual departure. With Barisic always restricted to a substitute’s role at Trabzonspor, one suspects he would not be overjoyed to see a familiar face walk through the door.
Fortunately for the veteran Croatian, Besiktas and Rangers remain poles apart as things stand.
Rangers want £4m for Ridvan Yilmaz as Jefte warned off Chelsea move
Website Yeni Birlik reports that Rangers value Ridvan Yilmaz at £4 million. Besiktas only have £2.5 million to spend right now, however, while an offer of a loan deal with a purchase clause included was diverted straight into the nearest recycling bin by those in the Ibrox boardroom.
Furthermore, with Chelsea suddenly showing an interest in Jefte, Rangers will be in no rush to entertain offers for their other senior left-back.
While speaking out in support of Yilmaz, particularly after some impressive displays at right-back and further forward on the wing, Philippe Clement is urging Jefte to stick around too, feeling that a move to Stamford Bridge would come too soon in his development.
“Maybe one day, if he makes a normal evolution, I think one day he will be ready for [a club like Chelsea],” said Clement, familiar with this sort of situation after working at Club Brugge, Genk and Monaco.
“But, for the moment, it’s too early. And I think this is a really good place for him to develop. So he’s totally not busy with all these rumours, totally not.
“That is not something new. I had the same in Genk,” Clement recalls. “[Leandro] Trossard could have left also earlier to go to the Premier League. We had talks with him about that, about staying. Also other players, like Sander Berge.
“So it’s important to do the right step at the right moment because you see also a lot of players making a step higher and not being ready, and they’re losing themselves because they’re not playing afterwards because they were not ready.
“In was the same in Bruges with players. It was the same in Monaco with players. So it’s not something new. I have experience around it. I’ve been speaking with players around that also.
“I understand one moment when it’s a good situation for the club and the player [to move on]. It’s not the nicest thing as a manager, but you need to let them go also. And you need to be proud of them that they can make that step. So we will work in the same way at Rangers, in a similar way that we did before.
“For [Jefte], it’s the best way to stay here, whatever comes.”
