- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Turkish giants Galatasaray are very interested in signing young Glasgow Rangers defender Ridvan Yilmaz this month.
HITC Football understands that Galatasaray have approached Rangers for the 22-year-old and the club won’t stand in the way of the £5m full-back leaving Ibrox.
It is likely to be a loan move with a view to a permanent deal, but Ridvan Yilmaz is not desperate for a return to Turkey and is currently assessing his options.
Clubs in Italy, Germany, France and Spain are showing an interest including Hellas Verona who are likely to need a replacement for Scottish international Josh Doig.
Doig is wanted by several clubs including Marseille who are opening talks over a deal, while Leeds United have also asked about him.
Galatasaray interested in Rangers defender Yilmaz
Yilmaz joined Rangers from Besiktas in 2022 and nearly went back to his old club before the start of this season.
However, Michael Beale kept him at the club and he made his first league appearance of the season in the Old Firm match against Celtic.
He was in and out of the team in the Scottish Premiership but suffered a big blow by being left out of Beale’s Europa League squad.
New manager Philippe Clement has started Yilmaz in each of Rangers’s last four league games, playing every minute and providing an assist for Todd Cantwell against Kilmarnock last week.
However, Rangers are now considering letting Yilmaz return to Turkey and join Galatasaray.
Current first-choice left-back Borna Barisic has been unavailable due to injury but Clement will stick with the Croatian as his first choice once he’s fully fit.
Big decision needs to be made by Yilmaz now
It’s a tough choice Yilmaz is now faced with a tough choice as the first 18 months of his Rangers career have been fine but not spectacular.
He played less than 10 league games during his first season in Scotland and has already surpassed that tally.
Barisic was considering leaving Rangers himself last year but has now established himself as an important player for Clement.
Yilmaz is only 22 and has plenty of time to continue developing at Rangers, but if he’s not going to play regular football then maybe a loan move to Galatasaray would make sense.
The full-back needs to have a conversation with his manager about how much he’s going to play for the rest of the season and then decide if should depart.
January a huge month for Clement and Rangers
Rangers currently sit eight points off the top of the Scottish Premiership but have two games in hand.
The title race could go down to the wire and making the right moves in the transfer market this month could make all the difference.
HITC Football understands they’ve been watching Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano but they might miss out to Premier League side Bournemouth.
It might only take one key move to change the tide in the league and hand Rangers the advantage.
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