Sadly for Rangers fans, the story of this transfer window has been Ridvan Yilmaz and whether or not he will be leaving the club.
Gers boss Philippe Clement seems to prefer Borna Barisic but the young Turk’s performances recently should see him keep his place in the starting XI at Ibrox against Copenhagen.
If Rangers are needing money in the building before they can buy then selling Ridvan Yilmaz makes sense given the cover available but it is clear that the first offer isn’t going to be accepted given the news coming out of Turkey via journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu.
Rangers reject bid for Ridvan Yilmaz
With news of a £3.4m bid from Galatasaray, it would have been easy for the board to snap their hands off and bank the cash with Clement hinting that nothing is decided.
However, according to Yagiz, Nils Koppen and Philippe Clement are willing to play the long game:
“Rangers rejected Galatasaray’s offer for Rıdvan Yılmaz.
“The national player was included in the Rangers-Copenhagen match squad today and was tested in the first 11 in the last tactical training.
“Rangers want to send Rıdvan Yılmaz on loan via transfer or conditional compulsory purchase. If the conditions Rangers want are met; Rıdvan Yılmaz may come to Galatasaray. Galatasaray’s first offer was rejected.”
Basically, if Ridvan is leaving the squad, we are wanting reassurances that an initial loan will become a purchase.
If the conditions aren’t met, then he stays at the club.
Galatasaray are clearly keen on signing Ridvan in this window so we hold all the cards, with interest from across Europe.
We don’t need to sell him.
What selling him does though, is give Clement money to spend, especially if it is a permanent transfer or one with an obligation to buy and we can secure a profit.
Barisic might not be perfect but he is more than a serviceable left-back who could get us through to the summer with Dujon Sterling backing him up.
One of two things are going to happen in the next two weeks.
Much ado about nothing.
Or.
Absolute chaos.
