Ridvan Yilmaz: A Good Investment?
Rangers signed Ridvan Yilmaz from Besiktas in July 2022 for a fee reported to be around £3.4 million + add-ons. He arrived with a lot of hype surrounding him as he was a 21 -year-old Turkish international with UEFA Champions League experience. It did seem an unusual choice at the time to spend so much on a left back given that Borna Barisic was the clear first choice.
However, with Calvin Bassey departing for Ajax, Yilmaz was, at a minimum, for the Croatian international. He started brightly and looked promising, until injury struck. The first time he was injured, he was out from October to March and missed a total of 24 matches.
Unfortunately, this has been a recurring theme throughout his time at the club. Going into his third season with the club, he’s only managed a total of 52 appearances, whilst he’s missed 52 due to injury.
The Injuries
All throughout his career Ridvan has had issues with his thighs/hamstrings. The season before he joined Rangers, he was out multiple times between thigh and hamstring issues, so it wasn’t exactly something the club didn’t know about.
That being said, his injury history didn’t suggest it would be anywhere near as bad as it has been in Scotland. As previously mentioned, he’s played 52 games for Rangers going into his third season, he’s also missed 51 with injuries! By the time he’s actually ready and available, his games missed will have eclipsed his games played.
That’s a terrible record for a player so young and who the club spent so much on (relative to Rangers/Scottish football at least). Let’s look at his injuries since joining (data via Transfermarkt.co.uk);
Photo: Transfermarkt
He’s still currently out injured, although he’s back in training, so hopefully he’s back in early November. At the moment, Rangers’ only available left backs are Jefté and Robbie Fraser, the latter, however, has barely been used by Clement this season.
Player Profile
In his 52 games for Rangers, Ridvan has scored two goals and five assists. These numbers are definitely ones that can be improved upon but they don’t really reflect the attacking threat that he provides when he plays. Before he came in, Rangers fans had been used to Borna Barisic and his excellent delivery from wide areas, most of the time from deeper positions. With Ridvan, however, he offered a completely different dimension in an attacking sense.
He often looks to drive inside and into the middle of the pitch which pulls players out of position and allows the winger in front of him more space on the wing. This created a variation in attacking options that Rangers didn’t have when Barisic played as he hugged the touchline and the only real options were a cross or waiting for the winger to run in behind the defence.
With Ridvan that completely changed and added a dynamism to Rangers attacking play down the left. He could drive inside to make the opposition defence narrower or take on opposition full backs and take them to the byline. That ability to change up attacking patterns made it more difficult for the opposition to set-up and defend as players were constantly being dragged out of position to cover danger zones.
This is something we’re also seeing with Jefté in the side, meaning that it may be difficult for the Turkish international to regain his place. However, this brings us to another question: what are Ridvan’s biggest strengths?
- One-on-one defending
- Defensive positioning
- Reading of the game
- Dribbling ability
- Chance creation
He’s excellent at firing passes through the lines and threading through balls in behind the defence, he could, and should, have more assists if Rangers’ front-line were just more clinical. He’s a really solid one on one defender and is very tenacious in duels and tackles, his work rate is unquestionable defensively but his biggest hindrance is his height.
There are Many Problems at Rangers, But James Tavernier Isn’t One of Them
Teams often exploit those deep crosses to the back post and put their strikers on the left back and it’s worked to varying degrees of success. That was how Lawrence Shankland scored at Ibrox last season and it’s been evident that clubs in Europe also look to exploit his weakness in the air.
It’s not just aerial duels though, he has a tendency to get caught out under long switches which can, at times, lead to wingers getting through on goal. His lack of ability in the air and his unavailability are his biggest weaknesses and, unfortunately, those are two rather important things, the former especially for domestic football.
The Future
With the emergence of Jefté and the fact that he’s 20 years old, it’s unclear what the future holds for Ridvan. When he was fit this season, the manager tried him at left back with Jefté on the left wing and it made for some really exciting combinations and play in the attacking phase.
However, Nedim Bajrami has since been signed and has been playing off of the left and Óscar Cortés is also due to return having been brought in on a loan with an obligation to buy deal. It would require some movement with other players in the team to fit Ridvan in at left back since Jefté doesn’t deserve to be dropped and his development could stunt if the two are rotated the whole season.
Ever since the Turkish left back arrived in Scotland, he’s been linked to a move back to his homeland. Could it now be the case that Rangers look for a return on their investment? It was reported that Besiktas managed to insert a sell-on clause into the transfer based on profit, could the smart thing to do be to take a small loss as to negate that clause?
One thing’s for sure: time is running out for Ridvan Yilmaz to prove his worth in Glasgow and persuade Philippe Clement of his merits. In order to continue his chapter at Rangers, he’ll need to give it his all and hit the ground running upon his return to full fitness.
By: Kai Watson / @KaiGWatson
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Rıdvan Yılmaz Twitter