RIDVAN YILMAZ has described his imminent move to Rangers as a 'dream come true' as Besiktas confirmed that negotiations between the Turkish giants and the Premiership club have begun.
The 21-year-old left-back, a product of the Istanbul outfit's youth academy, has made 62 first-team appearances for the club and has six caps for the Turkish national team.
Reports in Turkey have suggested that a fee has been agreed between Ibrox chiefs and their Besiktas counterparts and the player himself appears confident that the deal will go through.
Speaking to Turkish outlet De Marke Sports, Yilmaz said: "I am very happy, I am making my dream come true. I had a dream of making money and leaving this club and I made it happen.
"Of course, it hurts to leave, but everyone should know that I went to represent the great Besiktas community in Europe in the best way possible.
"I am very emotional. I have been in Besiktas for 13 years. I would like to thank everyone who contributed."
A statement released by Besiktas on Friday evening confirmed that negotiations between Rangers and the Turkish club are under way.
"Negotiations have started regarding the definitive transfer of our professional football player Rıdvan Yılmaz to Rangers FC," it read.
Beşiktaş Futbol A.Ş., profesyonel futbolcularımızdan Rıdvan Yılmaz’ın transferi için Glasgow Rangers kulübü ile görüşmelere başlandığını KAP’a bildirdi. 🔗 https://t.co/yyE9u47V6U pic.twitter.com/oOryqWMQlM
— Beşiktaş JK (@Besiktas) July 22, 2022
Croatian defender Borna Barisic is the sole recognised left-back on the books at Rangers after Calvin Bassey was sold to Ajax for a club-record fee, leaving Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst short of options at the back.
Some of the funds raised by Bassey's move were reinvested in the first-team squad as Ben Davies joined from Liverpool in a £4m switch on Tuesday and Rangers are apparently prepared to spend again to add another defensive recruit to the team.
