After being connected to rival Old Firm player Greg Taylor, Besiktas reportedly intensified their search for a Rangers “fighter” during the January transfer window, and negotiations are already underway.
The Gers‘ Europa League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford ended in a sad 2-1 loss in stoppage time on Thursday night. Just when it appeared that Cyriel Dessers had given Philippe Clement‘s team a point late in the day with an incredible strike, Bruno Fernandes scored the game-winning goal in the closing seconds.
Rangers will next play Dundee United on the road in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday lunchtime in an attempt to maintain their admittedly remote aspirations of winning the championship. They now need to find an unstoppable run of form over the next four months, as they are 13 points behind Celtic going into the weekend action.
With players still being linked to moves to Ibrox, the Gers still have time in January to add fresh players to increase their prospects of winning in the league and in Europe. One player who has been floated as a possibility is Timothy Fosu-Mensah, a 27-year-old free agent who left Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the last year.
The 26-year-old midfielder Allan Campbell of Luton Town, who has spent the first half of the season on loan at Charlton Athletic, has also been tipped to join Rangers. An Ibrox exit update has now surfaced, which could be a setback for Clement.
In January, a Rangers “fighter” might go.
A recent rumor from Aksam [via Sport Witness] claims that Besiktas has expressed interest in Celtic’s Taylor and has begun negotiations with Rangers to sign Ridvan Yilmaz this month.
Whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the new manager, authorizes the transaction is a crucial factor in the possible signing.
Yilmaz has started Rangers‘ previous six Scottish Premiership games and played the whole ninety minutes on the road against United on Thursday, so losing him would be a blow halfway through the season.
Despite the fact that the Turk hasn’t always been a crucial starter due to injury issues, Clement has called him a “fighter” and obviously recognizes his value as a player.
Yilmaz is only 23 years old, so it would be unfortunate to see him leave before his prime, but after spending three years at his old club from 2019 to 2022, the allure of returning might be too much to resist.
As of this now, it doesn’t appear very likely that Rangers will be able to keep the seven-cap Turkey international on board. It might be difficult to sign a successor before the window closes, which would be an additional setback.
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