Andy Walker admits Ridvan Yilmaz ‘disappointment’ after Europa League omission
Andy Walker has admitted he has been disappointed by the performances produced by Ridvan Yilmaz since he arrived at Rangers.
The Turkish international arrived at Ibrox last summer for a reported £5 million fee [Sky Sports] from Besiktas but has only made 16 appearances for the Light Blues, failing to score and registering three assists as he’s been kept out of the side by Borna Barisic.
Even with Barisic ruled out through injury for the first Old Firm derby of the season, Michael Beale opted to start Dujon Sterling at left-back and the Turkish defender has now been left out of the Gers’ Europa League side, with former Celtic striker Walker left deflated by Yilmaz’s time in Glasgow so far.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show on Tuesday (12 September) he said: “The biggest disappointment about Yilmaz was he was bought for a lot of money and we haven’t seen any of his quality.
“He comes in from time to time and he looks as though he might be an okay player, but not to the level of investment that Rangers have made on him.
“I do think when Rangers bought him the message was Borna Barisic was going to go, they were going to sell him.”
Disappointment
So far this season, Yilmaz has been restricted to only 25 minutes of action having missed a majority of Rangers’ games with injury and has now been left out of the Europa League squad as the Ibrox side has to abide by UEFA’s homegrown player rules.
Despite Barisic’s contract expiring at the end of the season, the Croatian seems to be well ahead of Yilmaz in the pecking order domestically and he will see his minutes restricted even further now he is unable to play in European matches.
It does seem hard to be as critical of the 22-year-old as Walker has been, after all he has played such little football in a Rangers shirt leaving him very few chances to prove himself worthy of the £5 million price tag.
However, it does seem the writing is on the wall and his days in Glasgow could be numbered. If he is to be pushed out of the Rangers squad it will represent a huge waste of money on another transfer misstep in recent years at Ibrox.
At only 22 there is every chance that Yilmaz will be able to turn around his fortunes for the Light Blues, after all, he signed a five-year deal when arrived in 2022 and if Barisic does depart next summer, he appears to be the next option in defence for Beale.
In other Rangers news, Barisic has praise heaped on him having been dubbed ‘key’ in Croatia’s success