Rangers summer signing Ridvan Yilmaz tipped to play in top five European league
Besiktas player Erdogan Kaya is confident that Ridvan Yilmaz will shine at Rangers.
Kaya, who is currently on loan at Serik Belediyespor, is the best friend of Yilmaz, who joined during the summer transfer window from Besiktas.
The Bears paid around £5 million to sign the Turkish left-back, but he has hardly featured under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
“Rıdvan is my best friend in the game and we grew up together at Besiktas,” said Kaya, as quoted by The Daily Record (24 October, page 32).
“He is extremely hardworking and I absolutely know he will succeed at Rangers because he has talent and faith in his ability.
“Eventually, he will be good enough to play in one of the top five leagues in Europe.”
Tough luck
Yilmaz has barely featured for the Gers this season which sparked debate as to why he was brought in the first place.
Rangers received a club-record transfer fee for Calvin Bassey and they should have used it wisely.
Signing a left-back was required, and they went after Yilmaz. The club must have scouted him heavily before paying a big sum. For the Gers, this is indeed a big sum.
However, he was largely ignored, with Borna Barisic kept on playing regularly.
Players from foreign countries take time to settle down, and a young player like him has probably taken more time to adjust to the system at the Glasgow club.
He looked good at Dundee but the players were booed after the game by the fans. He then picked up an injury that doesn’t look too serious.
Yilmaz is a highly-talented youngster and it remains to be seen if he gets regular opportunities when he returns from injury.
In other Rangers news, van Bronckhorst is “finished” at Ibrox.