Rangers transfer latest as Ridvan future decision revealed

When the Rangers left-back pulled up injured in March during the international break, Philippe Clement’s title tilt slid a little further away.

A few months earlier the 23-year-old was still an expensive back-up who’d never been able to sustain the sparks of excitement demonstrated in patches, due to managerial change, injury or both. It ultimately took a third man in the dugout for Rangers to see the best version Ridvan Yilmaz early this year. The defender was his side’s best player in the early months of 2024 before a frustrating injury effectively ended his campaign and ruled out the possibility of a place at EURO 2024.

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Noise has never been far away from the left-back during his two seasons at Ibrox. For a time in January they intensified as Rangers stepped up their pursuit of fellow left-back Jefte, who would join in May instead. Word from the defender’s camp has always been consistent in spite of speculation – Ridvan is happy and settled at Ibrox, ready to finally kick on and achieve consistency after two seasons without it.

Rangers are not actively looking to sell Ridvan in order to fund extensive work required on their squad this summer according to sources. There is a reality that every player at the club has a price and one offer could change that circumstance. Like Jack Butland, Clement and Nils Koppen are planning for life with Ridvan unless an offer deemed too good to turn down materialises.

Jefte, who spent last season with APOEL in Cyprus and also is considered able to play higher up the pitch as a left midfielder, should provide healthy competition and depth alongside Ridvan. As last season demonstrated Rangers cannot afford to lack cover across a gruelling season of matches.

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What’s more there is recognition internally that Clement’s squad must boast a blend of youth with experience, especially given a number of must-win games are only two months away.

Rangers’ interest in Ridvan stretches back to the summer of 2021, a year before Calvin Bassey joined Ajax for a club-record fee. Bassey had usurped Borna Barisic as the club’s first-choice left-back and proved a stronger stylistic fit for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s domestic football while thriving as a central defender in Europe.

Barisic came close to leaving the club in the summer of 2021, two years before walking out the exit door for free. However, it’s understood that in a market still recovering from the impact of Covid-19 deals proposed to Rangers were always loan-to-buy. Ridvan arrived the following summer in place of the departing Bassey.

(Image: PA)

Eintracht Frankfurt, who had recently defeated Rangers in the Europa League final at the time, were also in the race for Ridvan. Like Rangers, Frankfurt were in the process of selling their first-choice left-back, Filip Kostic, as they pursued Ridvan. The timing of those deals, with Bassey joining Ajax on July 20 and Kostic moving to Juventus nearly a month later on August 12, was said to be key in securing the highly-rated defender from Besiktas. Similarly, the fact that Rangers were the first to approach the club and the player's camp well in advance of the summer of 2022 was believed to have helped sway the player’s final decision.

Ridvan’s emergence under Van Bronckhorst was slow, however. Although the defender had played a significant number of games for a big club in a higher-quality league, time was required to adapt to the physical demands of Scottish football. Eight minutes into an exciting second start against Aberdeen in November Ridvan pulled up with a severe hamstring tear that would keep him out of action until the following April. The left-back had a small history of hamstring injuries prior to joining Rangers but nothing close to the severity of tear suffered in November 2022.

That injury, and change in the dugout, set the defender back in his quest to settle on the pitch. Off it Ridvan became a popular member of dressing room and adapted quickly to life at Rangers. It would take further evolution in the dugout to become undisputed first choice at left-back, however.

Michael Beale replaced Van Bronckhorst as Rangers returned to a style of football that required full-backs to offer width in the final third, rather than wingers. Consequentially, Beale favoured Barisic’s superior crossing ability and started the 31-year-old in up until he was dismissed last October.

Barisic retained his spot in defence for a spell under Clement, creating James Tavernier’s winning goal in the League Cup final with a trademark delivery. However, Ridvan came into the team soon after and kept his spot coming out of the winter break. A different style of full-back to Barisic, he’s able to occupy multiple zones of the pitch and is a far stronger ball progressor.

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A source close to the player explained that Clement has played a big part in improving Ridvan’s game - pointing to a stronger tactical understanding of his role and increase in confidence on the pitch. It speaks to the defender’s impact between December and March that his absence was so keenly felt as the league title slipped from Rangers’ grasp in April and May.

Rangers are confident that pre-season can help address the niggling injuries that have impacted Ridvan’s entire Rangers career. Clement consistently reiterated the importance of a pre-season camp suited to his style of play as integral to building players up to play at the intensity his football requires. It remains to be seen if that detail, and other departmental changes, can solve an injury crisis that’s derailed two campaigns in a row.

There’s no doubt that Ridvan will depart Ibrox at some point. Rangers will now believe that whenever that day comes they can turn a sizeable profit on a player who’s shown the potential to earn it.