Rangers could depose Yilmaz by signing a 6-foot-3 wonder who “looks like Ronaldo.”

Rangers could make a move for a Serie A player to replace Yilmaz.

Glasgow Rangers don’t play again until January 20th, and Philippe Clement has taken his squad to Spain for a midseason training camp.

After 34 games in the first half of the season, the winter break comes at the perfect time for the Light Blues, allowing them to regroup and refocus ahead of the next few months.
The previous few weeks have been fantastic, with a League Cup trophy secured and progress to the Europa League knockout stages, but progress never stops, and the Belgian coach will be desperate to win more silverware.

To do so, he may need to enter the transfer market and bring some new players to Ibrox, or his squad may run out of gas near the end of the season.

Josh Doig joins the Rangers as a free agent.
According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio (via Toro Goal), Rangers are among the clubs interested in signing Josh Doig during the January transfer window.
Clement could face stiff competition for the left-back position, as Torino have reportedly opened talks to sign him, while AC Monza and Leeds United have also been mentioned as potential suitors.
The deal could cost €6 million (£5.2 million) for whoever signs him, but the Gers may have the upper hand.

According to Di Marzio, Hellas Verona, Doig’s team, are reportedly interested in making a move for Ridvan Yilmaz, which could play into Clement’s hands this month.

The Turkish defender cost the Light Blues £5 million when he arrived from Besiktas in the summer of 2022, which is roughly the same amount that the Serie A side is asking for Doig.
Could a swap deal be in the works if neither side can agree on a transfer fee for their respective targets? It could come down to that, giving Clement the perfect opportunity to move the 22-year-old on and bring in someone else.

Statistics for Ridvan Yilmaz of the Rangers
The manager who brought in the young defender after the 2021/22 season was Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, who wanted to give Borna Barisic some competition after Calvin Bassey left for Ajax.
Former sporting director Ross Wilson praised Yilmaz upon his arrival, saying, “Gio and I were clear in our desire to invest in a high potential and high-quality left-back.”

“With the signing of Ridvan Yilmaz, we have now secured that.” He’s a talented young player whose outstanding performances for Besiktas have made him a sought-after player throughout Europe.”
Former sporting director Ross Wilson praised Yilmaz upon his arrival, saying, “Gio and I were clear in our desire to invest in a high potential and high-quality left-back.”

“With the signing of Ridvan Yilmaz, we have now secured that.” He’s a talented young player whose outstanding performances for Besiktas have made him a sought-after player throughout Europe.”

He appeared to be a fantastic talent, and hopes were high that he would eventually displace Barisic and, like Bassey, secure the club a significant profit in the future.

Unfortunately, his debut season did not go as planned. The former Besiktas starlet appeared just six times before the mid-season break for the 2022 World Cup, and his debut campaign was further hampered by a hamstring injury in October, which forced him to miss 29 matches across all competitions.

He returned to action near the end of the season and started all five of their post-split games, thriving under Michael Beale, and it appeared that he could only improve in 2023/24.
The 22-year-old has started only ten games this season, and Beale even left him out of the Europa League group stage squad, leaving the Gers with only one senior option at left-back going into the games.

Under Clement, he has shown flashes of form, most notably in the final game before the winter break against Kilmarnock, where he grabbed an assist, created a big chance, and provided two key passes in a solid attacking performance.

However, consistency is lacking, which could give the former Club Brugge coach the green light to fire him this month and entice Doig back to Scotland, especially since it would increase the homegrown quota for European matches.

Josh Doig’s professional statistics
The sought-after player has extensive experience in Scottish football, having previously played for Hibernian. The 21-year-old made his debut in the 2019/20 season before establishing himself as a regular the following year, appearing in 35 games across all competitions.

His performances convinced Verona to sign him ahead of the 2022/23 season, after he was given a memorable send-off by Hibs hero Lewis Stevenson, who even compared Doig to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo at the time.

Stevenson stated in the summer of 2022, “Josh has the potential to go to the top level.” He is 6ft 3in tall, fast, and strong. With that kind of physique, he looks like Ronaldo even with his top off, without meaning to sound creepy.
The 6 foot 3 defender, like the former Juventus man before him, is currently shining in Serie A, ranking in the top 7% of players in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons per 90 (1.69) and in the top 21% for total shots per 90 (0.94), proving he is a valuable attacking outlet from the left side of the defence.

In the league this season, Doig has only been dribbled past on 0.4 occasions per game while winning 3.1 total duels per game – a success rate of 53% – and there is no doubt he could be an excellent addition to the current Gers squad.
Young, homegrown, and with a fantastic “high ceiling” – as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him last January – the signing makes perfect sense, and he would return to Scotland a much better player than when he left in the summer of 2022.

With Yilmaz struggling to get regular game time and Barisic’s contract expiring this summer, Clement’s immediate concern is the left-back position.

He could solve this problem by allowing Yilmaz to join Verona this month in exchange for Doig’s services, which would be a piece of transfer business that would go down well with the fans.

There are still a few weeks before the transfer window closes, giving the 49-year-old coach time to assess his options, but Doig clearly has the potential to improve and become a mainstay at left-back in the coming years.

in other news, As a fourth-choice player, the manager opens the door for the 21-year-old to join Rangers.