Galatasaray have been warned off a move to bring Ridvan Yilmaz back to Turkey from Scottish Premiership giants Rangers with Angelino deemed the ‘better player’.
At least, that is the view of Nevzat Dindar, the influential Turkish reporter speaking to Milliyet as speculation again arises over the future of Rangers’ seldom-seen left-back.
Ridvan Yilmaz, a year-and-a-half on from his £3.4 million arrival, has started only 12 Premiership games for the Glasgow outfit. And while there has been the odd green shoot in recent outings, Borna Barisic remains Rangers’ first-choice, and that is unlikely to change any time soon with the Croatian likely to be handed a new contract at Ibrox.
Speaking to Milliyet, however, Dindar believes that Galatasaray should be wary of bringing former Besiktas flyer Yilmaz back to Istanbul, questioning whether Rangers’ number three would even be an upgrade on one-time Manchester City and RB Leipzig wideman Angelino.
“If you ask me, I think Ridvan Yilmaz is a risk for Galatasaray,” Dindar argues. “He is not a better player than Angelino. He does not seem very consistent to me.”
Barisic has come in for criticism himself during the international break.
The long-serving Rangers ace was left out of the Croatia squad for November’s fixtures, with head coach Zlatko Dalic unimpressed by the 31-year-old’s recent appearances.
“I didn’t get what I wanted from (Ajax’s Borna) Sosa or Barisic going forward (in previous internationals). We will not need to be so defensive. But (more) attacking,” Dalic says, explaining his decision to hand over left-back duties to Josko Gvardiol instead.
“At Manchester City, (Gvardiol) plays at left-back. He brings extra quality in attack. In the next two games, he will be in that position.”
Like Yilmaz, Barisic has also been linked with a move away from Ibrox ahead of the January window.
According to TEAMtalk, Rangers offered the former NK Osijek man a contract extension a couple pf weeks ago. Barisic’s current deal expires at the end of the current campaign.