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Summer Signing; Rangers sent reported £5m transfer reminder
Rangers defender John Souttar has sent a Ridvan Yilmaz reminder to supporters amid gathering hype around Oscar Cortes.
Gers fans have gotten excited about Colombian winger Cortes, 20, after an impressive full debut in the 2-0 win over Ayr United.
Named Player of the Match in the game, the RC Lens attacker is on a six-month loan with option-to-buy deal at Ibrox and it has Rangers fans interested.
But amid the chatter surrounding Oscar Cortes, Rangers teammate John Souttar has tried to take the pressure off the youngster.
John Souttar takes pressure off Oscar Cortes
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Ross County, John Souttar was asked about how Oscar Cortes was settling into the Ibrox squad.
Reminding supporters that it isn’t easy to adapt to a new culture and language, the Scotland international has urged patience on behalf of the attacker.
“He done well (against Ayr United),” said John Souttar. “I think it’s so early on.
“Someone plays well coming from another country everyone wants to build the hype and stuff, but I think we’ve just got to let him play football. Let him get used to it.
“I think coming from a different country, I’ve never done it but I’ve watched other boys do it and I can see how difficult it is.
“It’s unbelievably difficult when you can’t speak the language, or the culture.”
Ridvan Yilmaz reminder for excited Rangers fans
John Souttar would then go on to compare the situation with Oscar Cortes at Rangers to that of Ridvan Yilmaz.
The Turkish international left-back, 22, joined the Gers from Besiktas last summer on a £5m deal which turned heads for obvious reasons.
But after struggling to settle in Glasgow, and numerous exit links elsewhere, it’s taken a year for the left-back to fully start feeling at home in Glasgow.
It’s a warning that John Souttar has for Oscar Cortes who is also a young star trying to find his home away from home.
“Look at Ridvan (Yilmaz) for instance, who has probably himself taken a year to adapt and now he’s comfortable,” said Souttar.
“He’s joining conversations with the boys and he probably feels like he’s really part of the dressing room.
“Which is no-one’s fault, his or any of the boys, I think everyone was welcoming but when you start learning the language and you start seeing how Scottish people or British people do things and they adapt to that I think it becomes more comfortable on the pitch and off the pitch.
“So for Oscar, I think his ability and that looks really good and he obviously played really well at the weekend but I think it’s important everyone is patient with him.
“And doesn’t put too much pressure on him to perform week in, week out because there’s going to be dips like everyone. But yeah, he was really good at the weekend.”
Oscar Cortes joined Rangers on deadline day after a stuttering six months in Ligue 1 with RC Lens.
Having come through at Colombian club Millonarios, the French side paid a reported €4.5m (£3.8m) to sign the winger in the summer.
