Manager not giving up on signing £4m Rangers ace but has 6 days to do deal
Galatasaray are still in the market for a left-back with head coach Okan Buruk seemingly yet not ready to walk away from the club’s pursuit of Rangers defender Ridvan Yilmaz.
There are still six days left before the Turkish transfer window closes. And, while Galatasaray may have left it too late to bring Ridvan Yilmaz back to the banks of the Bosphorus, the Super Lig challengers are not going to accept defeat so readily. Galatasaray, reports say, will look to continue talks with Rangers. There is, however, a £2 million gap in the valuations of both clubs, with Philippe Clement’s Glasgow giants demanding double the amount Buruk’s are willing to pay for the former Besiktas flyer. What’s more, with the Scottish window closing two days ago, one suspects that Rangers will not be rushing to agree terms with Galatasaray, given that there is no way Clement can bring in a replacement ahead of a hectic final few months of a season which may still end in a Premiership title.
“Berkan Kutlu, Baris Alper Yilmaz and Kaan Ayhan have played very well at left-back. I am happy with all three of them,” Burak tells Sporx, forced to test the limits of his squad due to Galatasaray’s defensive shortages. “The (Galatasaray) management does whatever we want. Our president is always with us. If there is a need for a transfer in the next few days, we can use it in the Turkish League.“If there is an opportunity for a transfer, we will evaluate it.”
Gers want £4m as Galatasaray offer £2m
Rangers were linked with a host of left-backs throughout January but the closest they came to landing one was when they agreed terms with Fluminense to bring 20-year-old Jefte Vital to Ibrox. According to Fabrizio Romano, talks broke down after APOEL Nicosia – who signed Jefte on a season-long loan last summer – refused to cut short his stay in Cyprus, with the Brazilian issuing an apology to his temporary employers after the window closed.
“To all APOEL fans, my team-mates, the coach, the president and the entire club staff, I would like to communicate my apology for being absent (from training). At the time of the incident, I was not feeling in a position to help the club and I chose to leave,” Jefte explains.“The institution deserves all my commitment, dedication and focus, as it has been in the last few months, and as it will be from now on.“We remain stronger than ever and are now 100 per cent focused on the main objective of winning the championship.”
Ridvan Yilmaz has been installed as Philippe Clement’s first-choice left-back over recent weeks and that is evident in the fact he has played seven of the last eight Scottish Premiership games [Transfermarkt]. And that is despite the heavy transfer speculation that has surrounded Ridvan across the January window, with Galatasaray seeing a late bid rejected by Rangers for the left-back. Clement is clearly convinced Ridvan – who could cost Rangers as much as £5m if add-ons in his current Ibrox contract are met – is committed to the cause and the Turk will likely play a huge part in the title race as well as in Europe.
Michael Beale strangely left Ridvan out of his Europa League squad at the start of the season but with three changes permitted before the knockout rounds kick in, Ridvan has been brought into the pool of players available to face the club’s last 16 opponents in March.And Ridvan deserves that because he’s been brilliant, particularly against St Mirren and Hibs recently. However, Ferguson has never been a fan of the 22-year-old and while he mustered up the humility to praise Ridvan’s recent form on the Open Goal podcast recently, he thinks fans are getting too excited.
Derek Ferguson on Ridvan Yilmaz
Derek Ferguson said: “You look at Ridvan Yilmaz, he’s doing alright. He’s doing okay. I just think everybody is getting a wee bit too excited because he’s had a couple of good games.“I’m not saying he’s not played well, he’s had a couple of good games – but I don’t think he’s brilliant.”
Ferguson was then asked by co-panellist and former Rangers striker Gordon Dalziel if he would have Borna Barisic ahead of Ridvan. He replied: “That’s a good question by the way.“In the big pressured games I think he (Barisic) lets himself down. I think with Barisic, he still gives you more going forward in terms of the quality of balls (into the box).“He gives you energy, Yilmaz. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Maybe he’s a player I just look at physically and think ‘he’s not Clement’s type of player’.“I think until such times when he can get a good left-back in with that physicality or that bit of strength – but the last couple of games, he’s done well.”
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