Ridvan Yilmaz may force Rangers exit as Besiktas president shares demands
Ridvan Yilmaz could force his departure from Rangers in the near future after Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Cebi shared the demand the left-back made to him.
The president claimed Yilmaz “kissed his hand” before informing him of his desire to leave, citing psychological pressure as his reasoning to force a move before he ended up at Ibrox.
Yilmaz is set for talks with Ibrox chiefs this week to decide his fate after a lack of game time this season [Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, 22 November], and after his previous demands, it looks like he could force an exit in January.
Speaking to Turkish outlet SportX on 23 November, Cebi revealed: “Ridvan Yilmaz came and kissed my hand. He said ‘I am under psychological pressure here’ and wanted to leave.”
If the past is anything to go by, Cebi may have just provided Rangers with a view into the future and a sign as to how these crunch talks with Yilmaz and his agent will go, with his demands made in the past unlikely to have changed now.
It is understandable that the defender would look for a move away from Ibrox after what has been a disappointing season as far as he is concerned.
Having been left out of the Europa League squad by Michael Beale, Yilmaz has found game time hard to come by, with Borna Barisic the first-choice in his position and looking unlikely to be removed from that role regardless of his performances in the blue shirt.
Yilmaz has started just four of Rangers’ 13 Scottish Premiership games so far this season, failing to impress either of his bosses, with two of those starts coming because of an injury Barisic picked up against Hibernian.
Having failed to make his mark at Ibrox, it would make sense for Yilmaz to leave, both for the club and his own future, and the next move may see the parties separate in January.
In other Rangers news, one journalist was baffled by January transfer rumours.