Rangers: Philippe Clement left to sweat on Ridvan Yilmaz amid international development
Philippe Clement has seen a sharp uprise in the quality of Ridvan Yilmaz’s displays for Rangers since the Belgian arrived at Ibrox in October.
Linked with a move to Galatasaray during the January transfer market [Yagiz Sabuncuoglu], it looked as though the Gers would replace the Turkish full-back with Fluminense’s Jefte, but neither deal was done before the window shut.
The Ibrox faithful will look back on that transfer window with joy now, with Yilmaz going from strength to strength in Clement’s squad, knocking Borna Barisic down the pecking order and maintaining his starting spot.
Why will Philippe Clement be worried about Ridvan Yilmaz at Rangers this month?
With the Gers not in Scottish Premiership action again until Saturday 30 March, coming up against Hibernian, some of Clement’s players are away during the international break.
The likes of Ross McCausland and Rabbi Matondo have already been called up to their respective nations, but the recent news surrounding Yilmaz will be the biggest worry for the Rangers manager.
Despite not being included in the initial Turkey squad to face Hungary and Austria in friendly fixtures, the national team announced via their official X account on Monday [18 March] that Yilmaz is one of the players to replace Cenzig Ünder and Ferdi Kadıoğlu due to injury.
The 22-year-old has certainly earned his call-up, but Clement will be worried about his full-back star returning in one piece ahead of the Scottish Premiership run-in.
With Steven Thompson describing a moment from him as “absolutely perfect” during Rangers’ Europa League loss to Benfica, it is a surprise that he was not included initially.
After Rangers’ fixture against Dundee FC was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch on Sunday 17 March, Celtic took advantage and leapfrogged their Old Firm rivals back to the top of the table.
While Clement does have Barisic at his disposal, Yilmaz has become a very important part of his squad and could play a vital part in the season finale as Rangers look to claim their second league title in the last decade.
The hope is that he returns to Scotland fully fit and ready to take on Hibernian.
In other Rangers news, one pundit clashed with a fan after it was said Ibrox duo “are not up to it” anymore.
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