Philippe Clement will fume at £5m Rangers waste after injury news
Philippe Clement will be fuming at the decisions made by Rangers after a double injury blow to Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling has left him without a left-back because Ridvan Yilmaz was not registered to play in Europe.
Yilmaz, the usual second-choice left-back behind Barisic who was signed for £5million in 2022 [Sky Sports], was not registered for the Europa League squad under Michael Beale.
This means that the £5million spent by the club was essentially wasted on a player who, in a time of need, won’t even be eligible to step up to the plate.
According to PLZ Soccer on 25 October, both Barsisic and Sterling missed training on Wednesday morning through injuries and therefore won’t be travelling to Prague with the rest of the team.
This would normally see the boss turn to Yilmaz as the option, but he has found himself frustrated because the club wasted £5million on a player the previous boss had no intention of using.
Yilmaz was widely expected to be leaving Ibrox in the summer transfer window, particularly after being left out of the European squad, with Galatasaray and Besiktas both linked [Fanatik, 7 September], but he remained a Rangers player despite only being able to partake in domestic fixtures.
Beale shared in a press conference [15 September] that Yilmaz was left out of the squad due to fitness reasons, although he reaffirmed that he rated him as a player. That will bear no consolation to Clement, who is now suffering the results of that decision.
In other Rangers news, an academy wonder could start in Prague.