Gutted Beskitas boss Valerien Ismael admits he didn't want to allow Ridvan Yilmaz to join Rangers and reckons the full-back could have blown his chance at "attention" from the Turkish national side.
Rangers moved quickly to reinvest the club record fee they negotiated with Ajax for Calvin Bassey to add the 21-year-old to the squad alongside Ben Davies as the second of two left-side defensive additions in the last week. The Ibrox side agreed to pay out a guaranteed £3.4m plus £1.9m in potential add-ons, with a 20 per cent sell-on clause written into Yilmaz's contract to bring the full back from The Black Eagles.
It's a move that appeared to suit all parties with the Turkish international branding the move a "dream come true" as he prepares to link up with his new teammates at Ibrox, while the club who he joined at the age of 10 sent him an emotional send off on social media. However, Ismael took a different viewpoint and reckons the player would have been better staying in Turkey to play his football rather than move to the Scottish Premiership.
That's despite Rangers having a shot at reaching the Champions League, while Beskitas will be without European football next term. Ismael told Spor Haber : “We wanted to keep Rıdvan. I told him that with this fast-paced game (in Turkey), he could attract more attention at international level with the influence of his youth. Everyone is happy right now, probably only me may not be happy with the current situation. We are looking for players with the same quality who can fit into our system."
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