Despite securing a place in the Champions League group stages, Rangers have struggled of late against the big guns. They suffered heavy defeats versus Celtic, Ajax and Napoli and gaffer Giovanni van Bronckhorst is yet to resolve the defensive frailty. The Dutchman roped in an array of defenders this summer, including Ridvan Yilmaz, who is struggling for minutes at Ibrox.
The 21-year-old Turkey international completed a £3.4m transfer from Besiktas a couple of months back. He was brought in to challenge and cover Borna Barisic down the left-hand side of a four-man defence, but the latter has cemented his place thanks to a number of steady performances so far this term.
Ceyhun Kazanci, the sporting director of Besiktas, has recently opened up on Yilmaz’s situation post-Rangers transfer. He advised the youngster to wait for another year before making his next career move.
“We said it was too early for Ridvan Yilmaz, Serdar Saatçı and Emirhan İlkhan to go to Europe. I think they could have stayed another year. We allow players to go if they already have dreams. Hopefully, they will be very successful in the end.”
Kazanci told Haber Turk as cited by The Glasgow Live.
Yilmaz has made three appearances so far for his new employers but has played for full 90 minutes just once. It was a League Cup tie against the third-tier minnows Queen of the South and the manager must allow him more time to attune to the aggression of Scottish football. He was taken off against Kilmarnock around the hour mark, whereas his late introduction made little difference in a disappointing 2-0 defeat versus Union SG.
Why Yilmaz Must Wait For His Rangers Chances
Rangers suffered a setback when Calvin Bassey plied his trade at Ajax to succeed Lisandro Martinez. The young Nigerian was exquisite in spite of suffering heartbreak in the Europa League final and his exit left a void both in central defence as well as the left-back spot.
Besides Yilmaz, the Light Blues tied down Ben Davies from Liverpool earlier this summer. But the Englishman has not been able to settle in either mostly due to injury concerns. Having said that, Barisic has dealt well with the criticism faced for his last season’s underwhelming run. He has been the only bright spark in their defensive third and the Ibrox boss should stick with the 29-year-old for the upcoming fixtures. Yilmaz must stay patient and wait for his chances in order to stake a claim in Van Bronckhorst’s long-term plan.
