Yillmaz signs for Rangers

Ibrox manager backs Turkey defender to rise to pressure

GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst has backed Ridvan Yilmaz to thrive under the Rangers spotlight after clinching a £5million move from Turkish giants Besiktas.

The left-back put pen to paper on a deal until 2027 yesterday afternoon to become the seventh arrival of the summer transfer window at Ibrox.

Yilmaz will provide competition with Borna Barisic this term and fills the void left by Calvin Bassey’s departure to Ajax in a record-breaking deal last week.

Van Bronckhorst said: “I am really pleased to have added Ridvan to our squad and I believe he will bring a lot of quality to the club.

“I have been really impressed with his development in a really demanding, winning environment at Besiktas over the last few seasons.

“I am looking forward to welcoming him to training in the coming days and to seeing him in action for the first time.”

Rangers will begin their Premiership title bid away to Livingston this weekend before kicking off their Champions League campaign in Belgium next Tuesday against Union Saint-Gilloise.

Yilmaz has already impressed at domestic and European level for Besiktas and now the 21-year-old is determined to make the most of his chance to shine at Ibrox.

Yilmaz said: “I am delighted to be joining a club the size of Rangers and am really looking forward to meeting my new team-mates.

“This is a club who have shown they can compete against some of the best teams in Europe, and I am really excited by the challenges we have ahead of us.

“I have heard so much too about the Rangers supporters and I cannot wait to play in front of them.”