There’s no question left back has been a simmering issue for Rangers for a while. Ridvan Yilmaz, well over 12 months on from his arrival in Govan, still hasn’t settled and has found his time in Govan injury-disrupted, while Borna Barisic’s form is generally hit and miss and his overall stock with supporters isn’t that high. He is also out of contract the coming summer.
Barisic himself took 13 months to settle, ‘that’ goal at St Mirren coming over a year after he joined, and while he enjoyed a few strong seasons after that, it was a heck of a wait. Ridvan? We’re deep into 16+ months since the Turk arrived and he’s still not settled here or held a place down. It’s a long time for Rangers fans to wait to see him consistently at his best. We’ll have more on this later, but for now, could Philippe Clement want another body in there?
Enter Germany’s Marvin Plattenhardt who might be 31 now, but his stock comes from the very best, boasting 240 Bundesliga outings with Hertha, and 7 caps for his country – most tellingly he was once valued at around £20M at the peak of his time with the German giants, and clearly he still has a lot to offer.
In 2018 a host of Premier League sides were making a move on him, and had the £20M ready to shell out, but it didn’t materialise and he stayed in Germany.
And yes, he’s a Bosman – freed by Hertha this summer after talks to stay in 2022 fell through, the ex-German international is looking for his next move in football and hasn’t found his place yet.
Could it be Rangers?
Rangers are unstable at left back, no question, Yilmaz’ unsettledness and Barisic’s expiring deal, if Rangers aren’t careful we could be looking at having just the unreliable Yilmaz on our roster in barely 6 months. And that’s not enough.
Plattenhardt would be a very wise addition to the squad – his wages wouldn’t be a fortune, he has NO injury history at all (always a plus) and he’s a top player with experience at the highest levels.
Rangers don’t want ex-League One or Championship fodder, we’re better than that. A £20M ex-German international is more the quality we need.
Maybe one to look into?