Rangers Sign Winger Minsu Kim from Girona for £8.5m

Rangers have landed winger Minsu Kim from Girona in an £8.5m deal, completing a four-year move that includes an option for a further 12 months and nudging the club’s summer rebuild into double figures.

The 20-year-old South Korea international becomes Rangers’ 12th signing of a frantic window, with striker Kevin Kelsy expected to follow after a £9.2m fee was agreed with Portland Timbers ahead of the September 3 deadline.

A new edge in the final third

Kim arrives with a growing reputation and a clear sense of purpose. He joined Girona in 2022, forced his way up from the B team and made his La Liga debut in October 2024, then stepped onto the Champions League stage a month later. Last season, on loan at La Liga 2 side Andorra, he scored six goals and supplied four assists, numbers that convinced Rangers he was worth a significant outlay.

Now he steps into Ibrox with no attempt to play down his ambition.

"I'm so happy to sign for Rangers. I know it's a big club with great, great fans," he said. "I want to help the team to be better every day, to be a good person, and to do everything I can to help the team win everything that comes our way.

"I have a lot of excitement and I believe I have the mentality of a winner. I want to face whatever comes next head-on and I'm going to give the club what it deserves."

Manager Derek McInnes has chased extra firepower all summer. Kim, he believes, ticks exactly that box.

"We are delighted to welcome Minsu to Rangers. Strengthening our options in the forward areas has been a real target and focus for us throughout this window, and we believe he will add another exciting dimension to the squad," McInnes said.

"Minsu is a talented young player with excellent technical ability, energy and a real desire to develop, and we are looking forward to working with him."

Kim is not registered in Rangers’ Conference League squad for the play-off tie with Jablonec, so he will sit out Thursday night’s second leg. His first appearance could instead come in the heat of Pittodrie, with a potential debut at Aberdeen on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

Raskin left at home as interest grows

While one door opens, another may be about to close. Nicolas Raskin has not travelled to the Czech Republic for the Jablonec clash, with McInnes confirming the midfielder’s absence is down to mounting transfer interest rather than injury.

Sky Sports News reported on Monday that clubs across Europe and England are circling the Belgium international, with Atalanta and Real Betis among those previously credited with an interest earlier in the window. Now, teams from Spain, Italy, France and England are thought to be in the frame for the 25-year-old, who has two years left on his Ibrox deal.

Rangers hold a 1-0 advantage heading into the second leg, but they will have to protect that lead without one of their key midfielders.

"Nico hasn't travelled. Nothing to do with injury or anything like that, just the potential of a transfer, potentially," McInnes explained. "I just think we're so late in the window, maybe it's something the club's looking at. He's trained this morning but has been left back in Glasgow.

"When I came into the job, it was quite clear that there was going to be an opportunity for Nico. There's been plenty of interest in him. We believe that interest has stepped up over the last couple of days, so something may or may not happen.

"If Nico stays beyond the window, then it would be great to work with him. But if he doesn't, we wish him well."

Rangers have already added three midfielders this summer, but the Raskin situation still has the potential to reshape their final days of business.

"In certain areas of the pitch, we're a bit stronger than others. I think everything moves on," McInnes said when asked if a replacement might be sought. "Nico served the club well. There's obviously an opportunity for him and the club to capitalise on that for a transfer fee. I don't really want to say too much about Nico at the minute until, if and when, something happens.

"It's still an if rather than a certainty. So maybe we can comment a bit more on that if something happens."

For now, Rangers juggle two storylines: a new winger with Champions League experience ready to ignite their attack, and a midfield mainstay whose future could shift the balance of their season in a single phone call.