THE transfer deadline remains open in Turkey until this Friday.
But hopes amongst Turkish sides – not least of them former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst‘s Besiktas – of landing Rangers captain James Tavernier in that period have just taken a hit.
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That’s because a request to relax the regulation surrounding foreign players in the Turkish game co-authored by Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trabzonspor has just been rejected.
A rule brought in for this season that clubs can have 14 foreign players in their A Team squad – and 12 foreign players in their match squad – is set to remain in place.
Van Bronckhorst’s Besiktas currently have a full complement of foreign players, despite letting ex-Premier League stars Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Daniel Amartey leave the club.
The likes of Galatasaray and Trabzonspor – who snapped up John Lundstram and Borna Barisic – also have squads bloated with foreign talent.
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Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan said: “Besiktas and Galatasaray also had a request to increase the number of foreign players.
“The Turkish Football Federation rejected this request.”
In fact, the general direction of travel in Turkish fotoball remains to have less and less foreign players in match squads, with the goal of reducing the number of foreign stars from 12 in 2024-25 to 11 in the following two seasons.
Speculation over the Gers star‘s future at Ibrox has been rife all summer – particularly since he was unable to prevent the Gers crashing to a 3-0 Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park.
He had to run the gauntlet from angry fans afterwards.
But SunSport told you how a recent purchase would suggest the 32-year-old is staying in Glasgow, for now.
That’s because he snapped up a new pad in one of Britain‘s priciest homes hotspots.
Tavernier bought the flat in Glasgow’s affluent Park Circus through a firm set up with wife Melissa.
It’s also thought that the Ibrox side will be difficult to deal with should any late bids materialise – as it’s too late to bring in a suitable replacement.
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