Borna Barisic under pressure at Rangers as multi-million verdict shared by pundit
We’re delighted to welcome Tam McManus as our exclusive Rangers columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Borna Barisic’s spot at left-back is under pressure at Rangers after Ridvan Yilmaz impressed this week in the Premier Sports Cup, according to Tam McManus.
Yilmaz, 21, made his third start for the Light Blues in their 1-0 win over Dundee at Ibrox on Wednesday, impressing at left-back while Barisic, 29, sat the game out.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has barely played Turkey international Yilmaz this season despite the fact he cost the club £5million as well as Barisic’s poor form.
McManus now believes Yilmaz has a better chance of playing more games at left-back but he’s still unsure of van Bronckhorst’s stance on the youngster.
“Yilmaz cost them £5million so he was brought in to go into the team. You don’t splash out that sort of money for squad players,” McManus told Ibrox News.
“Barisic hasn’t been in the best of form this season, he’s been under pressure. But there’s not really been anybody there to come in and take his jersey.
“I don’t know if van Bronckhorst is really keen on Yilmaz but I thought he played well against Dundee – I thought he was one of Rangers’ brightest spots in terms of individual performances.
“I thought he got forward well, defended well, he had a shot with his right foot that went just over the bar. It was pretty positive.
“It was a good 90 minutes under his belt and he’s going to be putting pressure on Barisic.
“He’s not been at his best and he’s good going forward but not defensively.
“I think Yilmaz looks a bit better and more solid defensively.
“At £5million, van Bronckhorst has got to be playing him.”
Yilmaz has played just twice in the Premiership since his arrival from Besiktas and made just one Champions League qualifier appearance on top of his two Premier Sports Cup outings.
He’s played just 278 minutes in total.
In other Rangers news, van Bronckhorst is “finished” at Ibrox with a journalist sharing his sack verdict on the Dutchman.