Rangers won’t be having Ridvan Yilmaz transfer regrets – here’s why
Ridvan Yilmaz never quite lived up to the hype with Rangers.
Signed in the summer of 2022 in a deal with Besiktas worth up to £5.3million, Yilmaz was 21-years old at the time of his Rangers move.
It was a lot of money for Gers to be spending on a young defender, but it showed just how highly-rated he was, and set expectations for his Ibrox career to instantly high levels.
However, after three seasons in Glasgow, the attacking-minded full-back returned to Besiktas in this season’s summer transfer window, with Gers reportedly only banking around £2m for his sale.
Ridvan Yilmaz isn’t setting world alight back at Besiktas
Perhaps a reflection of Besiktas’ continued struggles in the Turkish Super Lig this season, with the team currently sitting fifth, Yilmaz hasn’t been in great form back in his homeland.
The 24-year-old has made 14 league appearances for Sergen Yalcin’s side this season, and has failed to provide a single goal contribution in any of those outings.
As per Sofascore, Yilmaz has made two errors leading to shots and one leading to a goal, whilst also losing possession an average of 12.7 times per game.
His dribble success rate stands at 47 per cent and has won 58 per cent of his total duels, and has so far failed to create any big chances either.
In comparison with his last season with Besiktas before signing for Rangers in 2022, Yilmaz registered three goals and four assists from 27 Super Lig games, proving that he could perform and produce at that level even then.
This time around, however, that attacking spark just doesn’t seem to be there, and his disappointing final season with Rangers appears to have carried over into his return to Turkish football.
Rangers seem to have hit the jackpot with Tuur Rommens
Having signed teenage left-back Jayden Meghoma on loan from Brentford in the summer as Yilmaz’s short-term replacement, Rangers made it their mission to find his long-term successor this winter.
And in the capture of Tuur Rommens, they very much appear to have done exactly that, as the 22-year-old has hit the ground running in impressive fashion in Glasgow.
There’s now even talk that he could make Belgium’s 2026 World Cup squad, as his performance against Hearts last time out – as detailed above via Sofascore – has surely seen him move ahead of Meghoma to become Danny Rohl’s number one option at left-back.
As such, Rangers certainly won’t be losing any sleep or holding any regret over moving on from Yilmaz, as they look to have got a good one in Rommens, that’s for sure.
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