Alan Hutton admits he would love to see Ridvan Yilmaz really battle it out with Borna Barisic for the starting left-back slot in the Rangers team.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst shelled out a big money fee to land the 21-year-old international full-back but has found game-time limited to date as he continues in his quest to settle down in Glasgow following his transfer from Besiktas. He has mostly played second fiddle to Barisic, who has been handed a Croatia World Cup spot due to his consistency at Ibrox.
Yilmaz was handed an opportunity in recent games before having his afternoon ended early in the big win over Aberdeen at Ibrox due to injury in a blow to the players, management and supporters who were keen to get a real look at the summer recruit. His injury will keep him out beyond the World Cup break. Turkish media reports have linked him with a January return on loan to his homeland, but Hutton believes he should stay and fight for his spot as the defender 'has really got something to prove'.
READ MORE: Rangers announce £86.8m club record turnover as Europa League run and transfers key to big result
Sign up to Glasgow Live newsletter for more headlines straight to your inbox
Hutton told Football Insider : “At one stage I thought it might happen because he was not playing, was not really getting a sniff at all.
“In recent weeks he has come in to the side and has done well in my opinion. I thought Borna Barisic looked quite negative in certain games, he tended to go backwards. Whether that is a confidence problem I am not so sure.
“But, as soon as Yilmaz came in, his first thought was to go forward, play the ball forwards and get after it.
“He was unlucky to pick up an injury, that is probably because he has not played a lot of football. I would like to see him stay and really battle it out for that position because I think he has really got something there to prove.“
Van Bronckhorst has also expressed recently that the defender is going nowhere during the January transfer window.
He said: “How many players do you see who move for £70m or £80m and are still adapting to their clubs? And yet every time we have players who need to adapt it’s a problem?
“It’s not a problem – it’s just the way we have to deal with the different circumstances. For him it’s different than for Tom Lawrence or Rabbi Matondo. They are used to living in the UK so it’s no problem for them.
“For him, it’s a really big step. First he needs to adapt to that and adapt to new team-mates, a new playing style and new tactics. But he is much closer now to starting than he was a few months ago. So for me, there is no debate about loaning him out or anything. Nothing."
READ NEXT:
- Rangers player ratings vs Hearts as Malik Tillman and Ryan Kent play major roles in Ibrox winner
- Rangers 1 Hearts 0 as Malik Tillman saves the day with Ibrox winner - 3 things we learned
- Ally McCoist touched by Celtic gesture as Rangers icon reveals he has cherished signed Hoops shirt
- Celtic and Rangers fixtures reshuffled as Light Blues picked for Sky Sports double-header
- Rangers announce £86.8m club record turnover as Europa League run and transfers key to big result
