By Sam Stone

14th Mar, 2023 | 6:10pm

Ridvan Yilmaz must grab Rangers chance amid recent Ibrox development

Ridvan Yilmaz has endured an extremely tough start to life at Rangers. However, after a recent Ibrox development, the Turkey international could finally be in line to make an impact.

Yilmaz, 21, has featured just eight times for the Light Blues since making his summer move from Besiktas. Injury has been the main cause of his frustration, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel after he made his return against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.

Borna Barisic was the man to give way for Yilmaz. The Croatian has been Michael Beale’s go-to left back, and with good reason. The 30-year-old has been in superb form of late, with his pinpoint crossing proving to be an excellent attacking outlet for the Gers.

However, Barisic is now a doubt for Rangers’ Scottish Premiership trip to Motherwell on Saturday (18 March). The Scottish Daily Mail claim (Tuesday, 14 March, page 67) he is set to jet out of the country for the birth of his first child.

Yilmaz is now the obvious candidate to come in and replace the in-form full-back and it’s a chance he cannot afford to pass up. Competition in the left-back area is required and it’s crucial the Turkey international shows he is adequate cover. A good performance from the 21-year-old could see Beale utilise him more frequently.

Longer term, Yilmaz could well be an exciting prospect for the Gers. He’s still extremely young and has shown glimpses of quality during his fleeting outings. It was good to see him back out on the pitch on Sunday (12 March). Let’s hope he grasps this potential opportunity with both hands and finally shows his worth in a Rangers jersey.

In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton took another wild swing at the club while live on BT Sport.