Rangers must learn lessons from this season. And I don’t just mean on the pitch where they’ve come up well short of what’s required.
I’m talking about off the park as well with regards to players’ contracts. Make no mistake, the situation they find themselves in with Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent can’t be repeated. Assets have been allowed to depreciate in value before being able to leave for free. As a club, Rangers can’t afford to let that happen again.
That’s why manager Michael Beale is planning talks with Borna Barisic and John Lundstram about their futures over the summer. Both players have just one year left on their deals. So in that scenario they either have to sign – or be sold. It’s that simple. if they’re not willing to commit the club have a sellable commodity on their hands. So big decisions have to be made. With Ridvan Yilmaz now in the building a lot of Rangers fans might think the Croat’s time is up at Ibrox.
But I’m not convinced. Listen, maybe Barisic is looking for a bit of freshness himself. If so, the club has to try to make some money on him – which they haven’t done with Morelos and Kent. He might fancy going elsewhere and that’s fine. But the club must cash in now.
At one point the fee being bandied about for Barisic – in terms of what Rangers could get for him – was around £6million. You won’t get anywhere near that sum with only one year left on his contract – but you could get something.
Yilmaz played well against Celtic last week but will he definitely start ahead of Barisic as Michael’s first-choice left-back next season? I’m not sure. To win leagues and cups at Rangers you have to maintain the levels required.
Yilmaz hasn’t shown that yet. He can’t be judged on one good Old Firm performance. I’ve felt for him this season. This is a young guy who has come across from Turkey and been dropped into Glasgow.
That can be tough. Remember, I experienced it going the other way when I moved to Bursaspor in 2011. I was a lot older than Yilmaz but, trust me, it can be hard for you or your family to settle.
Between the language barrier, a different style of football, new surroundings, it can be difficult.
Eventually, that’s why I left Turkey. It wasn’t the football, I enjoyed that side of it. But if you can’t quite settle, it’s not easy. Maybe that has affected Yilmaz since arriving in Scotland.
The 21-year-old won’t have enjoyed his first year in Scotland for a number of reasons. That’s why there was some chat about him potentially going out on loan in January.
But he will have enjoyed last Saturday at Ibrox. Who wouldn’t? When you’re actually playing games, it makes a huge difference. And he’s had a few decent displays recently.
In the last three games of the campaign, he’s got a chance to stake a real claim for next season. Because depending on how these talks with Barisic go, Rangers must either back Yilmaz or go and sign someone else.
That might sound crazy after spending £4million on the Turk from Besiktas. But if he’s not good enough and Barisic goes, they’ll need to respond by dipping into the market. We don’t know if Yilmaz is the right man yet. He still has to prove it – irrespective of how he did against Celtic.
He’s had injuries but I’m not sure he has been ready to play for Rangers this season. The word “project” was used at one stage from someone inside Ibrox. So how is that project progressing? That’s the question and hopefully he’ll answer it in the next three games.
That might go a long way to helping Michael make certain decisions on that position. Certainly, if Yilmaz plays his part in five post-split wins for Rangers without conceding a goal – he’ll put forward a compelling case to be the manager’s first pick.
If he doesn’t? Never mind talks with Barisic about his future. Michael might need to have a similar chat with Yilmaz as well over the summer.
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