Rangers Eye £8.5m Winger With Military Service Risk: What’s The Best Deal For The Ibrox Club? | OneFootball

Rangers are closing in on Min-Su Kim, with the Girona winger understood to be on the verge of completing an £8.5 million move to Ibrox.

Rangers edge closer to £8.5m Girona winger signing

According to Sky Sports Scotland, talks are at an advanced stage. The 20-year-old spent last season on loan with FC Andorra in Spain’s second tier, making 40 appearances, scoring six times and providing three assists in 2,406 minutes.

Kim operates mainly from the left and has now completed his medical, with a move to Glasgow next on the agenda. If everything falls into place, Rangers are already eyeing the weekend clash with Aberdeen for his first appearance. There is, though, a rather large complication.

Rangers face a transfer with real danger buried inside it

EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 05: Kim Min-Su of Girona FC in action during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between PSV Eindhoven and Girona FC at PSV Stadion on November 05, 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

South Korean men are subject to mandatory military service, with eligible citizens required to complete 18 months before turning 28. For Kim, that isn’t some distant administrative nuisance. It could become a major issue during the most valuable years of his career.

Exemption isn’t simply handed out. Sporting success matters. A gold medal at the 2030 Asian Games can provide a route around service, while Olympic medal success at Los Angeles 2028 could also prove decisive.

Rangers therefore can’t treat this like an ordinary transfer. Paying £8.5m for a player who could later spend a year and a half away from football would be a sizeable gamble.

Rangers must get the contract structure exactly right

The sensible approach would be a five-year agreement with a relatively modest basic salary and substantial bonuses for goals, assists and Champions League qualification.

Kim has promise, but his CV still contains just one season in Spain’s second tier. There are no guarantees that his game will immediately translate to Scottish football, never mind European competition.

A properly drafted military-service clause would be essential, allowing the contract and salary obligations to be suspended for the precise period of any enlistment. Rangers shouldn’t be paying a player who is legally unable to play.

International commitments need attention, too. If Kim becomes eligible for Olympic or Asian Games involvement, Rangers would have to factor those absences into the deal rather than discover the problem later.

Then comes the upside. A release clause rising to at least £25m after his third year, or following confirmed exemption, could protect Rangers if Kim develops into a serious Champions League-level asset.

For the 49ers Enterprises ownership group, spending roughly €10m on a Segunda División prospect is a bold call. Getting the small print right may matter almost as much as getting the player through the door.