Ridvan Yilmaz could be on his way out of Rangers in January with Galatasaray contacting the agent of the £3.5 million Scottish Premiership benchwarmer.
After spending around 18 months under three different managers and still failing to nail down a starting spot at Ibrox, January already feels like a natural end point for Ridvan Yilmaz’s Rangers career.
A return to Turkey appears to be on the cards for the former Besiktas man. Galatasaray are keen to lure him back to Istanbul a year-and-a-half on from his £3.5 million move to Glasgow, with the Super Lig giants making contact with Yilmaz’s representative (Fanatik).
Further talks will be held with the Rangers bosses if an agreement on personal terms can be reached.
Ridvan Yilmaz could leave Rangers already
The Star, meanwhile, believe that Galatasaray would prefer to sign Yilmaz on loan, though they will include an option-to-buy clause in his contract. The 22-year-old, capped six times by his country, moved up Gala’s post-Christmas wishlist after they were priced out of a deal for Brest left-back Bradley Locko.
The Ligue 1 outfit value Locko at around £9 million.
Yilmaz has featured semi-regularly in Scotland’s top flight of late but was dropped to the bench in favour of Borna Barisic for Sunday’s League Cup final victory over Aberdeen at Hampden Park. Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday, while praising YIlmaz’s attacking endeavour, wonders if the Istanbul-born flyer lacks the physicality to truly thrive in the Scottish game.
Galatasaray want former Besiktas man
“I know it’s mad (but) I’m looking at Yilmaz and (thinking) ‘how can you be that small’? ‘How small is he’?,” Halliday tells Open Goal. “I saw him at Tynecastle (against Hearts) and I thought ‘he’s tiny’.”
Rangers may look to bring in a replacement if Yilmaz goes, though Philippe Clement appears to be prioritising additions at the other end of the field following the loss of Danilo to a serious knee injury.
