Big news on the transfer front: Korea’s top wonderkids are moving this summer. First came Kim Ye Geon’s heavily anticipated move to Europe, now we have Kim Min Su reportedly highly likely to join Rangers FC for 10 million Euros – the second highest transfer fee in the club’s history.
A quick recap for our Tavern readers as well as Rangers supporters on why this is such a big deal: Kim Min Su is considered one of the top Korean youth talents. Like Lee Kang In, his footballing DNA was forged in Spain. Born in 2006, Kim moved to Spain as a child, progressing through local Catalan academies including CE Mercantil and CF Damm before entering Girona FC’s youth setup in 2022. He then climbed the ranks through Girona, and his rapid development earned him a La Liga debut in the 2024–25 season, along with minutes in both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. His breakthrough came in the 2025-2026 season when he was loaned out to Andorra, a second division Spanish side owned by Gerard Pique, for more consistent senior team minutes. It was reportedly Pique personally who requested Andorra sign Kim Min Su, having watched over him through the Catalonia pipeline, and he clearly saw talent where others didn’t because last season Kim Min Su was incredible. 40 games, 6 goals and 4 assists (not bad for a “traditional winger” not a “wide forward” like Son Heung Min), with immediate impact and a nomination for LaLiga Hypermotion Player of the Month in August 2025. He got better and better throughout the season; from relying on his raw pace to beat fullbacks to improved decision making and better low cutbacks and far post crosses, eventually ranking in the top percentiles amongst Segunda Division wingers for progressive carries, take-ons, and successful dribbles. It was very clear to all: Kim Min Su had outgrown the second division of Spain.
It seemed like a return to La Liga was coming but unfortunately, while he was at Andorra, Girona FC got relegated. In preseason and in the first few games of the new season in Segunda Division, Kim Min Su was excellent. The most famous clips will be of him repeatedly burning Ben White of Arsenal. And even in his league games with Girona his talent is evident – he’s ridiculously fast, his low center of gravity gives him a boost in acceleration, and he is seriously so strong – something most Korean players can’t say. The title of the below video is “Kim Min Su 3-minute highlight, must watch!” from his most recent and potentially last Segunda Division appearance for Girona vs Cordoba:
Why the Move to Ibrox Makes Sense
I have been questioning to myself why Kim would leave the country in which he spent most of his life, but several structural factors make the move to Rangers an ideal next step:
- First, the Scottish Premiership is certainly much more visible and scouted compared to the Segunda Division. Interestingly, this sets up an Old Firm / Glasgow Derby between left winger Kim Min Su of Rangers vs. right winger Yang Hyun Jun of Celtic.
- Second, Rangers play in European competitions. They are likely playing Conference League this year having been knocked out of the Europa League, but if they contend for the Scottish title they could be challenging for a Champions League spot like Celtic this year.
- Third, he is being brought in for a huge transfer fee and will certainly have lots of opportunities to shine. I am not worried about the physicality of Scotland as he shrugs off challenges from Arsenal and Segunda Division sides without issue. Also, following Girona’s relegation from La Liga, presumably Girona is in dire need of offloading anyone they can.
Military service
Something to touch on for the foreign crowd because Scottish news outlets and social media are talking about this as well: all Korean males serve two years in compulsory military service. Footballers get out of it in two ways: 1) winning gold at the Asian Games and 2) winning any medal at the Olympics. Both are U23 options, and the former has been the far easier method of pulling off military exemption. We won the last several Asian Games in a row allowing our top footballers to have a normal career in Europe. They still have to do a few weeks of service in the off season though, and football fans across the globe might remember all those memes floating around when Son Heung Min was completing his few weeks in the summer off season.
Kim Min Su was controversially not selected for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games in September. It’s a real shame because he is by and far the most talented and most in-form U23 winger in Korea. As much as I support the players I’m about to name, Yang Min Hyeok and Yoon Do Young are struggling to find playing time and on endless loans for their parent Premier League clubs, while Park Seung Soo doesn’t even play professional football (he plays for Newcastle U21).
But this is a recurring pattern and nothing to be worried about – our domestic Korean U23 managers for some reason NEVER rate guys who spent their youth days in Europe. Lee Kang In AND Son Heung Min were all passed over by U23 managers who didn’t rate them highly. HMB has something against Son, LKI wasn’t called up in 2018, etc.
So mark my words – Kim Min Su WILL get exemption. Our best players always get selected as wild cards for the Asian Games so they can get exempted. Son Heung Min, Kim Min Jae, etc. all have gone through this route for military exemption. It’s just a shame that Kim Min Su will have to wait until 2030 and be used as a wild card because he will JUST be over the U23 cutoff, but barring injury and barring a massive drop in form, he will get called up and get exemption.
The Next Son Heung Min?
We will probably never produce a second Son Heung Min and I don’t like to make comparisons like this, but if there is anyone in the pipeline to fill Son Heung Min’s shoes on the KNT it’s Kim Min Su. We desperately need a player like Minsu, because he is what Hwang Hee Chan should’ve been for us and what Yang Min Hyeok could become for us – a direct winger. We have a sea of technically gifted attacking midfielders. Lee Jae Sung, Lee Kang In, Bae Jun Ho, etc. But outside of Son Heung Min we have never had a guy who can beat his man and drive the ball forward with pace (Hwang Hee Chan was supposed to fill this role). Korean media keeps calling Kim the next Lee Kang In, presumably because they grew up in Spain, but that’s about where the comparisons end.
| Lee Kang In | Kim Min Su | Son Heung Min | |
| Primary Role | Playmaker, creative engine | Traditional / Direct Winger | Goalscoring wide forward |
| Core Traits | Close control, vision, press-resistance | High-speed 1v1 dribbling, wide isolation | Elite striking, explosive off-ball movement |
| Development | Valencia Mestalla | Girona / Catalan Academies | Hamburg SV/Bundesliga |
I for one strongly believe Kim Min Su can achieve great things. I wrote this in the Kim Ye Geon post – these two will be carrying the torch for us in the distant future.
The Asian GOAT will always be Korean. From Cha Bum Kun to Park Ji Sung, to Son Heung Min, and now Kim Min Jae and Lee Kang In – we consistently produce the crown jewels of Asian football. I strongly believe Kim Ye Geon is next in line, with other candidates including the new Barca kids or Kim Min Su at Girona. I don’t know how we do it, but somehow we churn out world-class footballers despite a lackluster domestic pipeline. If I had to oversimplify massively, I’d say Kim Ye-geon sits somewhere between Lee Kang In and Son Heung Min, but much closer to the former. He is a natural #10 like Lee Kang In, sharing that elite press-resistance, close control, and vision, but he brings a bit more pace and is truly ambipedal, giving him a functional two-footedness that makes his ceiling terrifyingly high.
Enough about youth talent – let’s get to other transfer news:
Seol Young Woo to Augsburg
For the past two years, the names circling around Seol were Eintracht Frankfurt and Sheffield United. But it seems that good old FC Koreaburg (our nickname for FCAugsburg thanks to warm memories we have with the club back in the days of Koo Ja Cheol, Ji Dong Won, and Hong Jeong Ho) has stepped in and will sign him. The reported transfer fee is 4 million + 1.5 million in add ons. This puts both of our national team fullbacks in the Bundesliga (if Lee Tae Seok moved to Germany too that’d be fantastic). The last time this happened was Park Joo Ho and Kim Jin Su, but both struggled for playing time and were both exclusively left backs. I have a much better feeling this time around. Seol was used extremely inappropriately by Hong Myung Bo and unfairly subject to abuse by Korean fans in the World Cup but at Zvezda he is a reliable fullback who has been solid the past several years. I really don’t know why HMB used him so suicidally high up when he is more of a defensive FB, and why he never played Jens Castrop who is the actual more offensive fullback of the two. HMB kept trying to plug square pegs into round holes… the answer was to play Jens as the guy who goes up and Seol as the guy who tucks inward… and I hope whoever our future NT manager is will understand this.
Anyway, I digress. It will be great watching Augsburg again – a club that has a special place in the hearts of Korean fans.
Lee Kang In and Lee Han Beom
Probably our two most in-form players in Europe right now, alongside Kim Min Jae at Bayern (who has seemingly reclaimed his starting berth) and Yang Hyun Jun at Celtic.
Lee Han Beom, as I have repeatedly predicted on the Tavern, is turning into a real force to be reckoned with. He ended up joining Club Brugge – which in my opinion is the perfect next step from Midtjylland. A Champions League regular that sometimes upsets bigger teams, usually wins the Belgian League, and every single season sends players to big teams? Perfect. And not only that – he got MOTM on what was a picture perfect debut and the fans were chanting “LEE LEE LEE LEE LEE” throughout the game. His next two appearances for Brugge were solid as well, and in both games was unfortunate not to score from corners.
As for Lee Kang In I’m sure all our Tavern readers saw this wondergoal already:
This was Atletico’s first goal of the season at home. In a weird coincidence, Griezmann, wearing the #7 jersey, also scored his debut goal for Atleti at the Metropolitano against same opponent in Malaga.
Lee Kang In’s second game was good but not excellent – still not fully match fit to play 90′. Simeone is reportedly telling Lee Kang In to take a lot of shots and it shows – he is striking the ball more and more often on the team (the movements of Giuliano Simeone, Lookman, and Baena in particular create space for him to do his time) while also landing killer through-passes. Again, as I’ve repeatedly stated on the Tavern, his creativity and vision will be extremely useful to Atleti, and it seems Lee Kang In might’ve finally found the perfect fit for him.
Next steps:
Bae Jun Ho is reportedly inching closer to an exit. A few weeks ago it seems Lyon was running into problems with having enough funds to secure BJH but now more news keeps coming out the Stoke and BJH himself are both pushing for an exit (with his contract expiring soon) and expect to have a move secured before September.
Hwang Hee Chan – a sad sad case… this guy once scored 12 goals in four months (the first half of the Premier League in 2024), but the past two years he has scored just FOUR GOALS in all competitions. He was always a streaky player, but the bad streak never went this long. Wolves explicitly said he (alongside other high earners in the squad) is not a part of their plans anymore following relegation, but finding a new club has been difficult. Will he continue his journey in Europe, or will he cash out in the Middle East? We will see…
Amazing progress our guys are making! Kim Min Su will do well for sure. Hope Bae Jun Ho gets his move soon as well