Rangers are on the verge of signing left-back Ridvan Yilmaz for a fee of around £5m; the Turkish international is seen as a replacement for Calvin Bassey after his move to Ajax; the 21-year-old will be Giovanni van Bronckhorst's seventh summer signing
Monday 25 July 2022 17:07, UK
Besiktas left-back Ridvan Yilmaz is close to agreeing a five-year deal at Rangers.
The Ibrox side have been in talks over a deal for the Turkish international and a fee of around £5 million has been agreed.
Several clubs from across Europe were interested in the 21-year-old but the player made it clear he wanted to move to join Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
Rangers' sporting director Ross Wilson had been working on replacement targets ahead of Calvin Bassey's £23m move to Ajax - a club record player sale.
Ben Davies joined from Liverpool following Bassey's departure and Rangers are working on further deals during this transfer window.
Rangers' current left-back Borna Barisic has also been the subject of interest from several clubs but no offers have been made that match the club's valuation of the Croatian international.
Yilmaz has made 62 appearances in all competitions for Besiktas after making his club debut in 2019 and has six international caps.
He will be Van Bronckhorst's seventh signing of the summer after John Souttar, Antonio Colak, Rabbi Matondo, Malik Tillman, Tom Lawrence and Ben Davies.
Sky Sports' Kris Boyd admits it will be difficult for any player to replace Calvin Bassey.
"Especially towards the end of this season, and the Europa League run that Rangers had, Bassey was unbelievable. He's versatile too; he can play left-back, he can play the left of a two, left of a three, the centre of three and I think that's why he's attracting clubs. We know, nowadays, that when teams are looking at players, they are looking at them to cover numerous positions and he, Bassey, certainly falls into that category.
"These performances towards the end of the season for Rangers were outstanding and you felt as if the team got lots of belief from that as well. They didn't have to protect the back line as much because of his pace, recovery, ability to deal with one-on-one situations. If he has to go, as it looks as though is going to happen, he will be a big miss for Rangers.
"Players have left in the past and then replaced, but I think this one could be a little bit difficult because of that versatility. I think Rangers will need cover. Borna Barisic is there, but he's been linked with moves away as well. So they are going to need someone to come in at left-back, and someone that can play on the left-hand side of a two or a three as well off the back of losing Bassey.
"Virgil van Dijk proved it at the top level, but I think is very harsh on such a young boy, at this moment, time to label him. But he's showing that he's got the attributes; he's got the pace, he's got the aggression, he's good with the ball, he can defend one-on-ones, so he will be an attractive signing for someone.
Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst told Sky Sports News what he expects from Antonio Colak:
"I think he has shown in the teams he has played for he can score goals and he's a very good striker. He did us a lot of damage at the beginning of last season, which also showed his quality.
"Of course, it is a new season ahead and we want to be successful in all the competitions we play so we also have to have the squad to be able to do that.
"So, we are more than happy that he will be able to join us."
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1.
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